The Doll House
by Kambria Rain
Summary: We were all going to die. I used to be an optimistic person, but that went out the window as soon as the hot mountain man decided we were going to hunt the hunters. AH. Warning: So far, there are minor character deaths, and Edward's a little scary.
1. Famous Last Words

Warning: This story will probably leave you confused, and since it's been a while since I've worked on it, I don't remember everything that was going through my head. I am amateur, so the story is far from perfect, but I don't want to take it down because some people enjoy it. If you're looking for something brilliant where everything makes sense, the characters are appropriately developed, and all your questions get answered, I suggest looking at Barnes and Noble. Otherwise, enjoy, but don't get mad at me because you have been warned lol. :)  
**

* * *

Chapter One**

**Famous Last Words**

Spring Break. It's the week where everything is possible and anything can happen. It's a glorious five days free from all lectures, exams, and early morning classes. The majority of the population's college students were hitting the beaches and partying it up, celebrating their temporary freedom and making memories that will hopefully not come back to haunt them. Seeing as how I live on the beach, I decided to try something a little different.

So that's why I was trapped in a van with seven other people traveling from the airport to the hotel where we would only get to stay for one night. I was one of a grand total of sixteen students who would be hiking through the Great Smoky Mountains. We were going to get in touch with nature and enjoy the peacefulness the outdoors had to offer… if we didn't kill each other first.

Driving our van was Tyler Crowley, the self-proclaimed player who was without a doubt one of the worst drivers to ever get behind the wheel. Having been banned from the majority of night clubs on the West Coast, he decided Spring Break on the beach just wouldn't cut it.

Riding shotgun was Lauren Mallory, the bitch. I normally strive to find the good in everybody, but I gave up on Lauren when she ran into me with her car and then got angry because I left fingerprints on her shiny new paint job. She was also notorious for breaking up relationships, including one of my own. Luckily Jake had enough decency not to cheat on me even though Lauren was a more than willing partner.

In the middle seat were Royce King and Rosalie Hale, the rich kids and our school's golden couple. Rosalie wasn't my biggest fan for reasons I have yet to learn. We had actually been pretty good friends once upon a time. Whatever it was, it obviously wasn't jealously, because when it came to looks, no one was more gorgeous than Rosalie. She was the perfect arm candy for the future vice president of King Enterprises.

I sat on the back seat. On my right was Mike Newton with a very chatty Jessica Stanley planted in his lap. They were the jock and the cheerleader. Contrary to popular stereotypes, Mike wasn't a meathead, and Jessica wasn't a bimbo. They do like to talk about themselves quite a bit, but they were overall decent people.

On my left was Jacob Black, the ex boyfriend. We were still in the awkward stage of post relationship in which I couldn't decide whether I wanted to be his friend or kill him. Most of the time it was the latter. He was sitting with one arm flung across the seat behind me and his head leaning against the window. How he was sleeping with all the noise and the constant van swerving was beyond me. I poked him a few times… nothing. That boy could sleep through anything.

That left me, Isabella Swan, sitting in the middle. After overloading my schedule every semester since Freshmen year, I was just three credit hours away from graduating. I've read more books than my high school library possessed and I was tired of reading about other people's good times. I needed to have an adventure of my own.

Suddenly Jacob's heavy arm fell off the seat and around my shoulders, pulling me into his warm chest.

"Ugh, Jake!" I tried to push myself away. It was moments like these that I cursed my small arms. His other arm wrapped around me and he buried his face in my hair. I did the only thing a mature woman like myself could do; I bit him.

"Ow! Bells!" Jacob let go of me and rubbed his side. "Save it for the bedroom baby."

Prick. "Keep your paws to yourself Black." The schmuck rolled his eyes and turned his attention to the window.

"So Bella, I was telling Mike that we should go to a few of the shops before we set out tomorrow. You in?" Jessica asked in her normal chipper voice.

"If one of those shops sells dinner, then absolutely." One last delicious meal before five days of camp food sounded nice.

"We're here!" Tyler shouted from the front seat.

"Thank God," I heard Rosalie grumble.

Lauren took a small silver compact from her purse to fix her lipstick and powder her nose. "There's no need to yell Tyler. We're not deaf," she snapped.

Ignoring her, Tyler followed the other van and pulled into the parking lot. The passengers from the other vehicle were already unloading their luggage. Looking at them, I couldn't understand how we all came to be on the same trip.

There was Eric Yorkie, the cute nerd. I think he came on the trip to get rock samples for some brilliant experiment he was working on.

The quiet guy and the bookworm, Ben Cheney and Angela Weber were standing off to the side. They were a really nice couple, both always polite and kind.

Seth Clearwater, the sweetheart, was taking in the sights with a wide smile on his face. He was an easy guy to like. I'm pretty sure he was a Freshmen this year. His sister was also on the trip.

Leah Clearwater was the badass. Seriously everyone knew not to mess with her. She was one tough chick. However, I knew something many people didn't. She was hopelessly in love with Sam Uley, the born leader, who was also on the trip along with her cousin, the model, Emily Young. As strong as she seemed, Leah was still terrified that Sam would fall for her cousin and never return her feelings.

Rounding up our group was Tanya Denali, the bimbo. Don't get me wrong, the girl had impressive book smarts, but she didn't have the common sense that God gave a billy goat. We were in Tennessee; I'm allowed to use phrases like that. Tanya was also a sex addict in search of a mountain man.

I followed Mike and Jessica out of the van. Mike, pretending to be a gentleman, took my hand to help me out while Jake and Tyler unloaded all of our packs. Mine was easy to find. It was clearly labeled "Property of the Chief of Police".

The hotel had a certain charm to it. It looked like something from an cute little village. Much to Rosalie and Royce's dismay, we were renting a couple of suites to share for the night. Sam wanted us to participate in some team bonding before heading into the woods.

That should be interesting.

"I'm going to get our keys," Sam announced and headed inside to the lobby. The bell jingled loudly as the door closed behind him.

It wasn't long before I heard the bell again. I turned around to see if it was Sam.

Definitely not Sam.

Dark boots. Worn jeans. Tight green tee shirt. Hello abs. Black leather jacket. A gorgeous mess of bronze hair. The muscles on that man were mouth watering, and though he had the face of an angel, my thoughts of him were anything but pure. He clearly wasn't the type of boy you bring home to meet the folks. There was only one thing I could think to say, but someone beat me to it.

"Damn." It seems Lauren and I were on the same page. A few of the other girls turned to see what she was looking at.

"I'm moving to Tennessee," said Tanya, her eyes never leaving him. Who's with me?"

"I am," Jessica and Lauren answered simultaneously.

At that moment, Hot Guy's head turned in our direction. Normally I would have had the decency to look away, but when his harsh glaring eyes met mine, I was frozen.

"Let's go check out our room," said Jake, snapping me out of my trance by grabbing my ass. "I hear the beds are big."

"Get. Away. From. Me." I growled. I looked back towards the door but Hot Guy was gone. Stupid Jacob. I guess it was for the best. He looked too dangerous. I was always more of to the safe and sweet type.

The bell jingled and Sam jogged over to the group, passing out the keys.

The suites were pretty generic. There were a couple of couches and eight beds all together. I immediately dropped my bag next to a couch. I've always been overly affectionate in my sleep, and the last thing I needed was to wake up with my legs wrapped around one of these people. It's happened before; quite a few times with Jake and once with Leah Clearwater. We don't talk about it.

"Ready to go?" Jessica asked. She had somehow already changed her outfit. I hoped she realized how hard it would be to lug her wardrobe up a mountain.

We all went out, but we didn't all stick together. Royce and Rosalie went their own way as expected. Nobody really knew why they were even on the trip to begin with. Camping and hiking seemed so beneath them.

The rest of the guys found a sports bar. Tanya went with them in search of her spring break fling. Jessica, Emily, and Lauren wasted no time scouting out the cute boutiques that the tourist town had to offer. That left me with Angela and Leah.

"What are you looking at?" Leah snapped, causing some poor boy to sprint in the opposite direction.

"Leah, relax. It's Spring Break," said Angela with a pleasant smile.

"Spring Break my ass. Instead of beach bums like the rest of the country, we're hiking up mountains and sleeping in the woods," she griped.

I had to laugh at her bitterness. "Why did you come then?" Other than to keep an eye on a certain cousin.

"Seth asked me to," she grumbled. "I owed him. The kid's bailed me out more times than I count."

"What about you Angela? I never knew you liked camping." None of us girls really seemed like the outdoorsy type.

She shrugged. "I needed to get outside. I've been trapped in labs all semester." Angela and Ben were the future doctors of the group. "What about you Bella?"

"My life is boring," I confessed. "How can I write about thrills and adventures if I never have any?" Famous last words anyone?

* * *

**AN: Hey guys! This will be the shortest chapter. It was really just to introduce you to everybody. A few more familiar faces will pop up as we move along. There will definitely be more Edward. Also, Jacob may get on some nerves in the beginning, but I promies he's not the villain. If you don't like this type of story, then check out my other work in progress _Bella Swan: Kidnapper_. Thanks for reading.**


	2. The Lodge

**Chapter Two**

**The Lodge**

My first night in Tennessee had been memorable to say the least. It seemed everyone made it a point to stay out long enough to avoid the team bonding Sam had planned. When we finally got back to the suites, I pulled out the sofa bed and collapsed.

Not an hour later, I woke when I felt the bed dip behind me. Thinking it was Jacob, I growled, "If you value your testicles, you'll get out of my bed."

A much smaller arm than anticipated wrapped around my waist. "Silly Bella, I don't have testicles."

"Tanya! What the hell?" At that moment, I decided I would rather take my chances with Jake. Tanya had yet to find her mountain man, and a horny Tanya was dangerous on so many disturbing levels. Luckily Jake is a heavy sleeper, so he didn't even notice I was there.

We got off to a bit of a late start the next morning. When making plans to go hiking, no one put any consideration into the fact that we would have to get up at an ungodly hour, and apart from Emily, there were no morning people in the group. I'm sure we all looked like the living dead, standing outside the hotel waiting on our bus. I decided it would be a good idea to use the ladies' room one last time before my crash course in the art of peeing in the woods. Somehow I managed to slip into the lobby without anyone joining me. That whole going to the bathroom in groups thing never did sit well with me. There's some things I would just rather do by myself. After doing what needed to be done, I washed my hands and headed for the door.

I didn't quite make it.

With a force that nearly knocked the breath out of me, I was pushed face first into the cold, tiled wall. My thoughts of how unsanitary that was were a little silly considering someone was raising my hair to look at my neck.

"Tanya, I swear to God…" I was forced to turn around, coming face to face with Hot Guy who will now be know as Mean Hot Guy. That freaking wall hurt.

"Those girls with you," he growled, quite possible the sexiest sound on the planet. "Do they have tattoos?"

I was breathing heavily at this point. I couldn't figure out if I was terrified or excited. I know. I need help.

"Answer me!" he slammed me into the wall again.

"Not that I know of, but I've only seen three of them naked," I replied. Seriously, I can't believe I said that either.

He let me go, still obviously fuming. He ran his strong hands into his deliciously messy hair. I really needed to get a grip. The guy was obviously a jerk. Who slams a girl in the bathroom wall over a tattoo? That reminded me…

"You're in the ladies' room." Again. What is wrong with my mouth?

With one more glare and frustrated groan, he stormed away.

I stood there for a minute to collect myself. Mean Hot Guy just attacked me in the ladies' room… and I was aroused. He was _so _strong. Ugh! What is wrong with me? I shook my head, splashed a little water on my face, and went out to join my motley crew.

The bus had just arrived to take us to our starting point. I noticed that Tyler was chatting up the driver. I admit that she was gorgeous. She had freakishly long legs and very dark red hair, mahogany or whatever. I nudged Tanya. "Found my replacement."

She smiled and pushed me back. "I can't believe you left me hanging last night. I could've gotten you off more times than Jacob Black could even dream about."

"I noticed that Eric had a little extra spring in his step this morning, so you must have gotten over the heartbreak," I shot back.

"Yeah, who knew he had it in him? I'll never underestimate those Science Club geeks again." She threw a wink over her shoulder at Eric who smiled nervously and boarded the bus. Shaking my head, I followed him. I was glad Tanya and I could joke about it though. The last thing anyone needed on this trip was a pissed off sex addict.

I ended up sitting next to Seth. He offered me one of his ear buds, insisting that I listen to some country music with him so we could get in the Tennessee mood or whatever. It wasn't all bad. I have an appreciation for any music that's done correctly. Talent is talent no matter what genre you sing or play. I doubt I would be learning to yodel anytime soon though. Sounds tricky.

It wasn't long before we pulled off of a perfectly nice paved road, onto a trail with enough bumps to knock Jessica out of her seat. Our driver must have gotten the job due to the length of her legs instead of her sense of direction. At least she knew to stop where the trail ended.

Twenty minutes later, the bus was gone and we all stood at the end of the trail looking up at the impossibility that was our Spring Break adventure. Getting up those mountains was going to be a pain in the ass. I couldn't wait.

"You're ass looks delicious in those shorts Bells," said Jake, swatting said ass.

"If you don't want to accidentally slip down a mountain, you'll keep your hands off my behind," I replied. I seriously could not remember him being such an ass when we were together.

"Let's get this show on the road," Sam bellowed before enthusiastically starting into the woods.

Luckily I somehow developed some coordination skills since high school because the hiking trails seemed to be missing. For the most part, we were city kids. The lack of clear paths meant that surely someone was going to die.

Jake stayed behind me claiming that it was so he could catch me if I slipped. In reality he just liked the view from back there better.

I was behind Emily. "How are you not tipping over?" Her pack was huge.

I heard her musical laugh. "My boobs are heavy. They help balance me out," she replied.

"She had to have a bigger pack for her beauty products," Leah explained grumpily.

"My face makes me money," said Emily. "I have to take care of it."

"Get moving bitches," Lauren growled pushing past us. "This is a hiking trip not a slumber party."

Jessica came up to join us, pouring on the bug spray. "Ignore her. She's just jealous that she's never been _invited _to a slumber party." She huffed and pushed a curl away from her face. "How does Rosalie still look perfect and I look like shit?"

"Money," Leah and I replied.

"Relax Jess," said Emily. "I've got some special frizz spray in my pack. Remind me when we set up camp and I'll get it for you."

"Aw thanks," Jessica smiled. And just like that they were BFF.

With such a large group, we didn't have to stop as much as you would think. Anytime anyone got hurt, Ben fixed them on the move. He was really a handy guy to have around.

We did stop briefly to eat lunch. The choices were slim. There's only so many items that stay fresh without refrigeration. I decided to keep it light to start with by eating some trail mix and a little jerky. We were lucky that there were plenty of fresh water sources, so at least we didn't have to carry more than a canteen or two each.

"Taste this," said Mike, handing me his canteen.

Normally I wouldn't drink anything from any of these guys, but there were enough witnesses around, so I felt relatively safe. I took his canteen and took a sip. A chilled wave of strawberry went down my throat. "What is it?" I asked, giving him back his canteen.

"Those little Kool-Aid packets. Awesome huh?" He grinned and took another gulp.

I laughed and shook my head. "I don't know how I'm going to put up with you for a week Newton."

"Better me than King though right?" he asked, still smiling.

"No comparison," I replied. Royce was standing apart from the group with his hand on the back of Rosalie's neck. I'm not sure he had spoken since yesterday. I guess he was too good for such a common thing as talking.

"We're making good time," Sam announced. "We're farther in than I expected us to be. We can set up camp before it gets dark."

"Yo. My girl said that we should hike this way," said Tyler, pointing to his map as Sam and Eric looked over his shoulder. "Something about a storm knocking a lot of trees down and this being the clearer path. It was hard to concentrate with her tits in my face."

Eric looked a little unsure. "I've been keeping an eye on the weather since January. I didn't hear anything about a major storm."

"Dude, she lives here. She knows what she's talking about," Tyler replied.

"But do you?" asked Tanya. "You said yourself; you were concentrating on her tits not her directions."

Tyler bowed up at her, "Don't question me bitch."

Surprising everyone, it was Eric who stepped in between them. "Don't talk to her like that. I suggest you back away."

"What are you going to do about it Science freak?" he sneered.

"I assure you I have been trained to defend myself," Eric replied confidently. He brought up his hands and positioned himself like some sort of Karate Kid, and I found myself praying that the show would continue.

"Amazing what a little pussy will do for a guy's confidence," Jacob muttered beside me.

Mike nodded, "I hope he kicks Crowley's ass."

"Break it up guys," said Sam, earning disappointed groans from the rest of us. "Tyler, are you sure you heard her correctly?"

Tyler nodded, "Yeah man. She made sure to tell me twice. I guess she knew I wasn't listening good the first time."

"Then let's get moving. No fights alright? We're too far in to turn around for a trip to the ER." Darn that Sam. He was always the voice of reason. I would have to find some other way to entertain myself.

I jogged up beside Tyler. "You almost got karate chopped."

"Yeah," he snorted. "That would have been embarrassing. Who knew the geek had it in him?" He shook his head. "A good romp will do that for a guy, I guess." He looked at me suggestively, "Wanna give me a boost?"

"You do know who you're talking to right? I walked in on you with my suitemate the same day you screwed my RA." I motioned to his crotch. "You're not getting that thing anywhere near me."

He laughed. "We'll see. I've got you in the woods for a week without the Chief. Anything could happen Swan."

"I'll sic Eric on you," I warned and then smiled when he threw up his hands in surrender.

I'm not going to lie. This new direction we were hiking was creepy. The trees were so thick I could barely see the sky looking up, but no one else seemed to have a problem with it, so I kept my mouth shut.

We had been hiking for hours, and I was proud to be one of the only ones without a scratch. Then a freakin' bee stung me. A bee! I cursed and grabbed my arm.

"Babe, you alright?" Jake asked, quickly picking the stinger out of my poor skin.

"I hate bees," I grumbled.

Ben was at my side in an instant with some type of salve. "This should keep down the swelling. Are you allergic to bees?"

"Not that I know of." I watched as he gently rubbed the ointment in. "Thanks Doc."

"You're welcome," he smiled kindly. Nice guy that Ben.

"Hey!" said Jake. "I got the stinger out. I should get a thank you or a hand job or something." Jackass that Jake. I chose to ignore him.

After the bee drama, the hike was relatively quiet. At that point, everyone was tired and ready to set up camp, but Sam kept insisting we push on a little further. Even sweet Angela was plotting his demise when we came across something unexpected.

A beautiful cabin was hidden amongst the trees. It appeared to be an abandoned lodge of some sort.

"Do you see that too?" I asked Seth who nodded wordlessly.

We all stood there just staring at the cabin until finally it was Rosalie who charged forward. She walked up the steps and onto the front porch. Then she pounded her fist on the door.

When no one answered, Royce went up and kicked it open. He turned back to us. "Sleep in your tents if you want. We're finding a bed." He grabbed Rosalie by the hand and pulled her inside.

"Screw the tent," said Lauren, following them. One by one the others went inside until it was just me and Seth left.

He shrugged. "I'll sleep out here with you if you want, but I bet the cabin is bee free."

"Well then by all means," I smiled and headed inside.

The cabin was a little dusty but fully furnished. Whoever lived here obviously left in a hurry. My overactive imagination came up with several scenarios why, and they all gave me the creeps.

"There's no generator," said Eric. "We've got water though, so if anyone wants a bath, you'll just need to heat some up the old-fashioned way." He went over to the furnace to get a fire going.

I dropped down on the sofa next to Angela. "We're some hardcore campers, huh?"

She let out a tired laugh. "We're pathetic. I know, but I'm okay with that. You?"

"Oh definitely," I replied. "I think I'm gonna head on up and find a room. Goodnight Angela."

"Night Bella," she yawned.

Someone had the bright idea to light candles, so I was able to get upstairs without crashing into anything. I chose the first unoccupied bedroom I found and collapsed on the bed face first. My feet and legs were wore out.

I was just about to doze off when the door opened. "Hey roomie!"

"Jake," I growled. "I hate you. Go away." I didn't really hate him of course, but I did hate being woke up.

"No can do Bells baby," he replied, pushing me over and lying down next to me. "It's either me or Crowley, and there's no way I'm letting that dude in here. There's no telling what you could catch. Just try to control yourself, alright? I'm kinda tired."

"Shut up and sleep," I grumbled, too tired to kick him out.

"Sweet dreams," he whispered and kissed my temple. See. He wasn't always a jerk. Just the majority of the time. Regardless, I was out in no time, and not even Jake's snoring would be able to keep me awake.

I'm not sure how long we had been asleep when I heard the door close. It couldn't have been time to leave already. I sat up and wiped my eyes before trying to focus on the intruder. "Rosalie?" I whispered. "What happened?" She looked terrible. Her hair was a mess, her clothes were torn, and her lip was bleeding. There was also a small cut near her eye where it looked like she had been hit.

"Royce," she answered.

My blood ran cold. "Jake, wake up," I shook him as hard as I could.

"Hmm? Bells what is it?" he asked groggily.

"Royce attacked Rosalie." I told him.

That woke him up. He practically jumped off the bed and went over to Rose. When he saw her face, he growled. "Son of a bitch." He turned back to me. "You two stay here." He stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

I got my first aid kit out of my pack, and Rosalie quietly sat down next to me. I did my best to clean her up without hurting her. I didn't know what to say to her. When I finished with her cuts, I ran a brush through her hair and pulled it back in a ponytail.

"He raped me," she said tonelessly. "I was a virgin because I wanted to be perfect for him on our wedding night. I guess he couldn't wait."

"Rose." My heart was breaking for her. No one deserved this. "Tell me what to do. Tell me how I can help you."

Jacob came back in then, looking even more pissed. We both looked at him questioningly. "He's gone. We can't find him anywhere."

Now that can't be good.

* * *

**AN: Okay, it's time to start killing off some characters. I've got everything planned out, but tell me who you want to get the ax. There are plenty of people to choose from. The Hot Mean Guy (I'm pretty sure you can all guess who that is) will make bigger appearances as the story moves along. Login and leave a review, and I'll send you a preview of the next chapter. Thanks for reading.  
**


	3. Who Stays and Who Goes

**Chapter Three**

**Who Stays and Who Goes  
**

How did things go so wrong so quickly? We were sixteen college kids out to have a little adventure in the mountains. Now one of us was missing, and if he was lucky, he wouldn't be found. Sam, Jacob, Tyler, Mike, Seth, and Leah were out there searching for the bastard. Eric and Ben stayed behind with the rest of us girls in case Royce came back.

Rosalie was lying next to me on my bed. Angela had come up and taken samples of anything the police might need to convict Royce so Rose could finally take a bath. She still didn't feel clean, but scrubbing her skin and changing her clothes offered her a small level of comfort. She refused to talk about what happened, and I was selfishly relieved. However, if she decided she wanted to talk, I would listen. Eventually she admitted that she just wanted to be alone, so I went downstairs to see what the others were up to.

"I don't understand why we're just sitting here," Lauren griped. "He fucked her. He didn't break her legs."

Everyone went silent. How could someone be so cold? Angela snapped and backhanded her across the cheek, turning her head to the side. "You cold-hearted bitch!" Angela screamed. Ben ran over and grabbed her arms, pulling her back before she could hit her again. I knew this was hard on Angela too. She had been the only one to see everything that Royce had done to Rosalie.

Lauren snarled and stormed out of the cabin. No one went after her.

I sat down with the other girls at the dinner table. Jessica found some cereal in the kitchen, so we were eating it dry.

"I've been thinking," said Tanya. We all looked at her disbelievingly. She frowned, but continued, "I do that on occasion, you know. Anyway, this is Spring Break. Something terrible happened, but we can't let it ruin our whole trip. I say we go streaking through the woods."

"I'm up for it," Jessica shrugged.

"Me too!" smiled Emily.

I knew this was a bad idea. Running naked through the woods when we had no idea who or what could be out there was just stupid on so many levels. It was something girls like me did not do. "Okay." I swear they all looked at me like I had two heads or something.

"Really Bella?" Jessica asked.

"Are we going or not?" I snapped. I needed to do it before I lost my nerve.

"Yay!" Tanya squealed and jumped up. "Just try not to get into any poison oak ladies. Trust me. It's hell." She yanked her shirt over her head and dropped it on the floor before giggling and running outside. Emily and Jessica followed her lead.

What have I gotten myself into? I stripped down to my bra and panties, but I was going to get away from the cabin before taking anything else off. Baby steps. While the other three were sprinting and screaming through the trees, I walked quietly behind them, keeping my eyes on the ground instead of their assets.

This wasn't a good idea. I should just turn around and go back to the cabin. I had lost sight of the girls and was still too chicken to lose my undergarments. They were camouflage after all, a gift from my cooky mother when she found out my Spring Break plans.

I heard a twig snap and whipped around. "Tanya?" There was no answer. "Emily, Jess?" Still nothing. "Come on guys. This isn't funny." Somebody was there. I could feel it. My heart was beating wildly against my chest. This is what I came on the trip for: adventure, some excitement to add to my mundane life. Stupid, stupid, stupid. I had to get back to the cabin.

Before I could take two steps, someone grabbed me from behind, clamping a hand over my mouth and holding me so tightly I couldn't move. Royce! It had to be Royce. Who else would do this to me?

"You really shouldn't be out here all alone darlin'." I whimpered, but he only held me tighter. "You have no idea what's out here."

"Bella!" Jessica sang from somewhere in the distance. "Come out. Come out where ever you are! We're going skinny dipping in the creek!"

I tried to scream, but it was muffled against his hand. He easily lifted my feet off the ground and carried me backwards. He turned me around, pushing my back against a tree with his hand still covering my mouth.

Holy shit.

"Hello again." It wasn't Royce. It was Hot Mean Guy! "I take it you're Bella. Shake your head yes or no." I nodded. "Now I'm going to tell you what we're going to do. Okay?" I nodded. "Good girl. I'm going to take you back to the cabin. You are going to get all your little friends," he paused, pushing my hair away from my face, "and you're going to get the hell out of these mountains." When I nodded this time, he took his hand away from mouth.

"Who are you?" I asked, hating how my voice shook.

"That doesn't matter," he growled. "I'm not the most dangerous thing out here."

"Y-you're dangerous?" What the hell was going on?

My breath hitched when he thrust his hips forward, letting me feel the very large, very hard bulge in his pants. "To you I am." He let me go, but grabbed my wrist, "Let's go. We need to hurry."

I stumbled a few times as he pulled me back towards the cabin. He was walking so fast. I wanted to ask him questions. I wanted to know what else was out there. I wanted to know what he was doing here. I wanted to know _exactly _how dangerous he could be.

We were almost there when a bloodcurdling scream ripped through the air. I froze, but he yanked me forward. "Get inside. Now!"

"Please, please just tell me your name." I had to know.

He looked angry and frustrated that I wasn't doing as he said. Finally he huffed, "It's Edward. Now _GO_!"

I ran the remainder of the short distance alone, grabbing my clothes off the back steps before rushing inside. It was a madhouse as everyone tried to figure out who was missing. When Jacob saw me, he grabbed my arms, "Bells! Oh thank God."

"Jake, we need to get out of here. There's something out there. We have to--" I stopped when the front door swung open. "Emily."

Sam carried her in wrapped in his shirt. She was screaming and crying and… her face… half of her beautiful face looked as though she had been mauled by some monster. He took her straight to a bedroom and lay her down on the bed. Ben hurried over to see what he could do for her.

Everyone was freaking out. Jessica was sobbing loudly, covering her mouth with her hands. Mike and Tyler were tearing the place apart looking for any weapons they could find. Tanya was hyperventilating. Lauren was trying to get them to shut up.

"What happened?" Leah yelled above the noise, needing to know what happened to her cousin. Angela pulled her and Seth into the bedroom before shutting the door.

I hadn't even realized that Jacob was holding me until then. "Jake, we have to leave. It's not safe here."

"Are you fucking crazy Bella?" Tyler snapped. "Whatever did that to Emily is out there and you want us to go trekking through." He shook his head, "No. I ain't going nowhere. We're safer inside."

"You think whatever it is can't get in here?!" I yelled back.

"No," said Mike. "No, Tyler's right. If we go out there, that thing will have an open shot at us. At least here, we have something between us."

I turned to Jacob. "Look, I met a guy out there. He helped me get back here. He told me that I needed to get my friends and get out of here. Jake, whatever's out there isn't going to be stopped by a few doors. Please. We have to go."

"Wait," Eric interrupted. "You said you met a guy. Bella, what if he's setting you up? What if he's in on it and wants to get us all out there? Think about it."

"I wasn't being played. I'm not stupid Eric," I argued.

"Says the bitch running the through the mountains in her fucking underwear," griped Tyler. I was about to hit him, but Jake beat me to it. Mike and Eric quickly got in between them before a brawl could break out. I put my hand on Jacob's chest to calm him down. Tyler touched his now bleeding lip. "Look. I'm staying here. If you two want to run out into the woods, go right ahead. You won't make it."

I covered my face. This could not be happening.

"Bells," Jacob put his hands on my arms. "We can't go out there alone, at least not until I know what it is we're up against."

"So we're just going to sit here and wait for whatever it is to attack?" I asked in disbelief. How could I be the only one wanting to get out of here?

"I won't let what happened to Emily happen to you," he said solemnly. There was no point in arguing with him then. He was too stubborn for his own good. "Why don't you go upstairs and check on Rosalie?"

I let out an aggravated breath before doing as he suggested. I understood that everyone was freaked out, but I was pissed that no one was listening to me. And where did Tyler get off? He was the same guy to get arrested for urinating in public, so how could he say anything about what I had done?

Rosalie was staring out the window when I walked in and shut the door behind me. "Do I even want to know?" she asked tiredly.

"Someone or something attacked Emily. Half of her face got messed up pretty badly. Everyone's running around trying to figure out what to do," I explained.

"What do you think we should do?" She turned to face me.

"I want to get out of here, but no one else seems to like that idea," I answered honestly. "I think if we stick together, we can make it back alright. I mean, we made it up here didn't we? Emily didn't get attacked until she was by herself."

Rosalie sat back down on the bed. "I thought I was better than you. I always thought we were on the same level, but then you started dating Jake the mechanic while I was with Royce King." This was an odd time to be having this heart-to-heart. "Jacob was going to fuck up Royce for me," she laughed humorlessly. "Looks like you were the better one after all."

"I'm not better than you Rose," I replied. "I'm just different. That's why we made such good friends. We helped balance each other out. But please never judge me on who I date again. Right now I've got the hots for a possibly psychotic mountain man with green eyes and sex hair."

"I've judged people my whole life. It's going to be a tough habit to break," she admitted dryly. "A mountain man? Really Bella?"

I smiled. "Shut up Rosalie."

We were quiet for a minute before she spoke again. "If you want to leave, I'll go with you. Really, I can't stand the rest of these people." I frowned at her. "Baby steps."

There was a quick knock on the door before Jake stuck his head in. "We're having a group meeting to decide what to do if you two want to come."

I stood up but Rosalie stayed put. "Just fill me in later," she said. I nodded and went with Jacob downstairs.

It seemed like everybody was talking at once. Leah was pacing back and forth and Seth was sitting with his head in his hands. "Alright," said Sam, calling everyone to attention. "There's an off-road vehicle in the garage. There's also a jeep, but it won't start. There isn't enough fuel to get all the way back to town, and there's only room to fit three or four people."

"Well you don't have to worry about me," Tyler interrupted. "I'm not going out there when that thing is still on the loose." A few of the others voiced their agreement.

"Did she say what it was?" I asked.

He shook his head sadly. "She didn't get a good look. She wasn't really paying attention to where she was running."

"I examined the wounds," Ben added. "They're like nothing I've ever seen. Whatever hit her, got her pretty hard. She has a fractured cheekbone, and I'm afraid the wound is going to get infected. We need to get her to the hospital."

"So the question is who stays and who goes," said Eric, rubbing his hands together slowly. "I'm sorry. I'm with Tyler. I'm not going out there. I wouldn't be much help to Emily anyway."

"I'll go," said Sam, causing Leah to freeze. "I'm going to get Emily and Rosalie out of here. I just need one more of you guys to come with me."

No one said anything at first. Seth was having the most trouble, being torn between helping his cousin and staying with his sister.

"I'll go too," Ben offered, causing Angela to gasp beside him, so he took her hand. "You'll need me incase anyone gets hurt. We'll get help when we make it town. We won't leave you guys here."

With the decision made, the chatter started up again. Ben was trying to soothe Angela who didn't want to be separated from him. A few of the guys were making plans to board up the windows. Sam was giving Seth and Leah instructions on what to do while he was gone. Lauren looked as though she could care less about any of it.

I went upstairs to tell Rosalie the news. "Sam and Ben are taking you and Emily out of here and sending help for the rest of us." She didn't say much as she put on her shoes and grabbed her pack. "I guess I'll see you when we get back."

"Yeah," she replied. "We can do lunch." She gave a small smile before heading out.

I fell back on the bed and rubbed my eyes. This was officially the longest day of my life. I felt the bed dip beside me and didn't have to look to know who it was. "It's going to be okay, Bells," Jacob told me. I didn't say anything back, so he sighed. "Why don't you tell me about this guy you met in the woods?"

Edward. The very thought of him made me blush. "I met him first in the bathroom at our hotel," I admitted.

"At the hotel? And then you ran into him out here. Bells, you don't find that a little strange?" Jacob said cautiously.

I ignored that. It wasn't important at the moment. "He knows what's out there Jake."

He thought about it for a second. "Then what's he doing here?"

That was a good question. "I think… I think he's looking for it." I paused. "Jake, I don't like this. This doesn't feel right. We shouldn't be here."

"I'm not going to let anything happen to you Bella," he promised.

"But I don't want anything to happen to you either. You're an ass ninety percent of the time, but I still love you." I needed him to know that.

"As a friend," he said, frowning a little.

I smiled sadly. "Yeah. I'm sorry."

"'S'okay," he sighed. "I'll take what I can get. I still get to sleep with you though, right?"

"Only if you don't touch me," I smiled.

"You're the one who gets all cuddly in her sleep. What if you come on to me?" he teased back.

I hit him with my pillow. "Then be a gentleman and resist."

We both heard the off-road vehicle come to life. The thing looked like some type of monster golf cart. I guess that meant they were leaving. I hoped they'd make it far enough away before it ran out of fuel.

"If he's sleeping in here, you're in the middle." I sat up quickly, hearing the unexpected voice.

"Rose, what are you doing? They just left! Why are you still here?" Things couldn't have gone wrong already.

She dropped her pack on the floor against the wall. "I sent Angela in my place."

"Why would you do that?" Jake asked.

"She was blubbering about being away from her little boyfriend," Rosalie shrugged. "She helped me earlier. I was returning the favor."

"Is that the only reason?" I doubted it.

Rosalie let out a long sigh before answering quietly. "I saw that girl's face. I'm… I guess I'm too vain to risk that happening to me. Let's face it; I don't have a winning personality. I'm proud of the way I look, and I won't have some beast messing that up. If that means I have to be stuck in a room with you two, then so be it."

I moved over to make room for her on the bed. "I don't think any of us got much sleep last night. Why don't we take a nap? We probably won't be sleeping much tonight either." We all climbed under the covers.

"You know, if this had happened two days ago, I'd be in heaven… only I'd be in the one in the middle," said Jacob.

"Shut up Jake," we both replied.

Soon both Jake and Rosalie were asleep. Everyone else was downstairs or at least they were supposed to be. For some reason, I couldn't shake the feeling that we were being watched.

* * *

**AN: Hey guys! I'm updating as quickly as I can, so I can get to the more exciting stuff. Just to let everybody know, there will be a few more Cullens in this story, not just Edward. If you review, I'll be sure to send you a preview of chapter four. Thanks for reading. **


	4. Cold Showers

**Chapter Four**

**Cold Showers**

You're supposed to drink your school worries away on Spring Break. You're supposed to do stupid things you would never dream of doing and blame it on the alcohol. You're supposed to wake up next to random strangers and sneak out before you have to talk about what happened.

So with that in mind, I guess waking up with my leg draped across another chick wasn't so out of the ordinary. It would have been less awkward, however, had she not been awake and staring at the ceiling. "Bella, I think you misunderstood me when I suggested we try to be friends again."

I pulled my leg away. "Then you shouldn't have climbed into bed with me. You're sending me mixed signals." I rolled over to find the other side of the bed empty. "Where's Jacob?"

"He went to help those other idiots board up the windows." She sat up and stretched. "I'm going to take a cold shower." When I smirked, she rolled her eyes, "Not because of you conceited. The previous owners of this shack weren't intelligent enough to purchase a gas water heater instead of an electric. I don't understand how people can be so incompetent."

"Rose," I propped myself up on my elbows "You are not allowed to use big words like that on Spring Break." She flipped me off and went to take a shower.

Not ready to get up, I rolled over and buried my face in my pillow. "Are you fucking crazy Bella?" a severely angry voice questioned.

I groaned, "Why do people keep asking me that?"

"I told you to get out of these fucking mountains." My head snapped up. There stood Edward in my room in all his angry glory.

"How did you get in here?" Not that I minded.

He jerked his head towards my window. "They missed one."

"We're on the second floor," I said stupidly.

"Do you really think that will stop someone who wants in badly enough?" he asked. "You have no idea what you're up against. I told you to get out of here. Why didn't you just listen to me?" He said that last part more to himself as he ran a hand through his hair, gripping it with frustration.

"I tried to get them to leave. No one wants to go out there and face whatever monster that is," I argued.

He huffed, "You have no idea--"

"Then why don't you fucking tell me?" I snapped. "I'm so sick of this mysterious bullshit. Just tell me what's going on, so I can explain it to them. They won't leave just because you said so."

"You want to know?" he asked dangerously. "I'll show you."

I didn't have time to process what he was saying before I was on his back, hanging on for dear life as he leapt through the window. I wanted to scream, but I knew the others would hear me. I was torn between doing the smart thing and doing the exciting thing.

When we hit the ground, he dropped me to my feet and grabbed my wrist, pulling me along behind him. "I can walk without your assistance, you know."

"Don't get an attitude with me Bella," he warned, still pulling me.

"Don't tell me what to do," I shot back. He was incredibly hot, but that didn't mean he had to be a jerk.

He suddenly stopped walking and yanked me to him. "Listen to me carefully. You wanted to know what was out here, and I'm risking _both _of our lives to show you. The least you can do is shut the fuck up and not get us killed."

"I wanted you to tell me, not show me," I whispered angrily. I wasn't very thrilled about this whole possible death situation. "I am two months away from finishing college, and I'll be damned if I've worked this hard for nothing."

"Then you'll be quiet," he replied, dragging me again.

I kept my mouth shut despite the fact that I wanted to yell at him for putting me in danger. The fact was we _were _in danger and making a fuss would only increase it. Edward's grip on my wrist was bruising, but at the same time, it made me feel the tiniest bit safe.

"We're going up in the trees," said Edward after we made it a good distance from the cabin. "When I stop you, you can't move. You can't make a sound. They're very observant, but luckily they're also very arrogant. They don't expect us to be looking for them. If you don't think you can handle this, tell me now."

"I'm fine," I whispered. What the hell was I doing?

Edward grabbed a limb above us and pulled himself up. When he was steady, he reached back down for me. God he had strong arms. I followed him closely. Every step he took, I took. There was no room for error. I can't stress just how much I did not want to die.

When Edward stopped me, I swore he could hear my heart. It was about to beat right out of my chest. I was that terrified. He handed me a small ear piece and motioned for me to put it in while he did the same. Then he handed me a small set of binoculars and pointed off into the distance. My hands shook as I brought them to my eyes.

I didn't see anything at first. There was a large rock wall, but that was to be expected in the mountains. I looked back at Edward, but he just motioned for me to keep looking, so I did.

After a few minutes, I heard something through the earpiece. It sounded like something was coming. My breathing picked up a little as I tried to control my freak-out. Reading about these sort of things was much different than experiencing it. Movement caught my eye and I focused on the source. It wasn't the monster or the beast that I had been expecting. It was the bus driver. What the hell? She stood next to some type of bush and folded her arms impatiently.

Suddenly the bush moved and a man stepped out. He didn't appear to be anything out of the ordinary. He was just another blond headed white guy from the looks of it.

"What the fuck James?" the bus driver nearly shouted. "You've already let four of them escape!"

"Relax Heidi," he purred. "There's still eleven to choose from. Besides, the Indian girl was of no use anyway. Victoria got a little carried away with her. She has a little trouble controlling her jealousy sometimes."

"No shit," Heidi snapped. "You better do something about that. The others will no doubt be on the lookout now. She just made your job a whole lot harder."

He shook his head, smirking. "No, she just made it all the more exciting."

Heidi let out a long, frustrated breath. "Whatever. Did you find anything out from the rich boy?"

"Plenty," said James. "The little one thought that by telling us about the others, we would let him go. However, when they found out he damaged the blonde… well let's just say the punishment fit the crime."

"I hope they fucked him good. He was such a condescending bastard," Heidi replied. "I'm going back to town to keep a lookout incase you guys screw anything else up. I'll let you know if I hear anything."

When they were both out of sight, Edward took the earpiece and binoculars and put them back in the pocket of his cargo pants. Then he started walking back the way we came.

Once we were on the ground again, he took my wrist and began pulling me behind him again. I didn't say a word this time. When we got to the cabin, I got on his back and he climbed his way up to my window.

Edward climbed in with ease and set me down. "The others are so busy they probably didn't even notice you missing, but you should still make an appearance downstairs just to be safe. Tell that big guy you're going to take a shower. I'll meet you in there."

I practically ran down the steps to find Jake. I wanted to know what was going on, and Edward was the only one who could tell me.

"Hey Bells. It's about time you woke up," said Jake. "You hungry?"

I shook my head. "I'll get something in a minute. I think I'm just gonna take a shower."

"Alright, let me know if you need any help," he winked.

"Pig," I replied half-heartedly before rushing back upstairs. I grabbed my pack and went straight into the bathroom.

Edward shut the door and locked it. "Turn the water on," he whispered.

I anxiously moved the shower curtain aside and turned the nozzle. The sound of the falling water would make it easier for us to talk without anyone overhearing. He pulled me as far away from the door as we could get. "What the hell is going on Edward? Who were those people?"

"I trust you recognized Heidi," he replied. I nodded. "She's the girl I was looking for that day I accosted you in the bathroom. I was only told that she was attractive with dark hair and a tattoo on the back of her neck."

"Who--" I started, but he cut me off.

"I'll get to that in a minute," he snapped quietly. "From what I've gathered, Heidi made sure you and your friends made it to the cabin. It was set up to have enough food and supplies to make you feel safe enough to stay. Then the hunters would come. They're planning to take you all, some dead, some alive. I'm still trying to find out who they're working for, but to do that, I'll have to go through the hidden entrance in the rocks. I need to at least take out the hunters before I do, but I really need to get a hold of one for information."

"Why are you doing this? They don't know you're here. You could easily get away," I whispered.

His jaw clenched. "Two weeks ago my little sister came here with some friends. She called me the first night and told me about the girl with the 'cool tattoo' who was going to take them hiking. Three days later she finally called me again. I could barely hear her, but I knew she was in trouble. She told me that someone was killing her friends and that they were after her. Then she screamed and the phone went dead. I'm here to get my sister and to kill the fucking monsters who hurt her."

I let out a shaky breath. "They're coming for us. What do I say to the others? How can I get them out of here?" I didn't want what happened to his sister and her friends to happen to us.

"Tell them what you saw, but don't tell them about my sister. If she's…" He stopped and shook his head. "I don't want her in anymore danger than necessary. If they find out who I am, it will just be worse for her."

I nodded. If any of the others got caught, there was no doubt in my mind that they would question them like they had Royce. I didn't know who would crack and who wouldn't, so I couldn't take any chances. Jake wouldn't spill to save himself, but he would to save me, so I couldn't tell him either.

I didn't like thinking about it. I didn't know what I would do if they got Jacob. I may not have been in love with him, but I did love him. Pig or not, he'd always been there for me. Strangely enough he was probably my best friend.

"You need to take a shower," said Edward, bringing me out of my thought.

I shook my head. "I'll just heat some water later for a bath. That water's too cold."

"You already told the others you were taking a shower. Now quit being a baby and get in," he replied.

"I'm getting really sick of your attitude. You can't just--" I shrieked as he yanked my shirt over my head. "What the hell are you doing?"

"I shower naked," he said, taking off his own shirt. His glorious eight pack came into view and suddenly a cold shower didn't seem like such a bad idea. However, there was no way I was showering with this stranger… this hot, sexy stranger.

"I'm not getting in there," I said defiantly. His pants hit the floor along with his boxers. I was so focused on trying to keep my eyes up that I didn't even notice him going for my shorts until they were slipping off my hips with my panties. My eyes widened, "Excuse me!"

He clamped a hand over my mouth. "You don't want anyone to hear you talking to me." His other hand reached behind me and unclasped my bra. "Now get in the damn shower."

I didn't have a choice. He picked me up and stepped into the tub. The cold water sent a shock through my body, but it was nothing compared to the feel of his skin against mine. I started shivering, "You b-bastard. I'm f-f-freezing."

"You just need a distraction," he replied, his lips brushing my ear. He stood behind me with a bar of soap. He bent down and I missed the shield his body had provided against the cold water. I shuddered for a completely different reason when his rough hands ran across my skin. He was washing me, every inch of me starting with my feet.

"Edward," I stopped him when he reached my upper thighs. I didn't want to, but I did. I couldn't let him touch me there.

"I'm just going to wash you Bella," he said softly. "Now move your hands."

My hands fell to my sides without my consent. I felt my knees go weak when he touched me, but he wrapped an arm around my waist to hold me up. I closed my eyes as his fingers trailed over me without slipping inside like I desperately wanted, but would never ask for. The water didn't seem so cold anymore.

He moved on to my stomach, my back, and my arms. Then finally his hands came to my breasts. He caressed them firmly, rubbing in the clean smelling soap. He squeezed each mound and pulled me flush against him, letting me feel his erection poking just above my ass. He held onto me a little longer than necessary, before sadly letting go. I felt his hands go to my hair next, lathering in some shampoo. When he finished, he turned me around, his dark eyes boring into mine as he held my face in his hands. Whatever it was he needed to say never came.

"You need to get dried off," he huffed. "You need to get warmed up."

I stepped back from him as he washed himself off quickly, not letting me help. My hands were shaking too much to do it properly anyway. He left the water running as he stepped out, grabbing a couple of towels. He dried me off at a surprising speed before draping the large towel over my shoulders like a blanket while he got dressed.

"I'm going back out there," said Edward. "Tell your friends what you saw. Tell them that if they stay in these mountains, they're going to die." I nodded and he took my face in his hands again. "Be safe." And then he just left.

Once I snapped out of my lust induced haze, I was able to get dress and go back downstairs. Everyone reluctantly came into the den to hear what I had to tell them. I could tell most of them were just annoyed with the interruption.

"An animal didn't hurt Emily," I announced. "Hunters did. I don't how many there are, but they plan on taking all of us dead or alive. I snuck out earlier." Jake looked furious, but I kept going. "The bus driver who brought us here, who suggested we take the route that led us here, she's in on it. She made sure we got here. They wanted us in this cabin. They know about all of us."

Lauren interrupted, "And how the fuck would they know that?"

"Royce," I replied, chancing a glance at Rosalie. She appeared unaffected, but I knew she had practice at masking her feelings. "They got him, and he told them everything he knew. That didn't save him though." I looked over at Seth and Leah. "Sam and the others made it out. Heidi, the bus driver, was furious about it, but if they made it out, we can too. We just have to stick together."

"I'm not leaving," said Tyler. "Sam will send help. Now that we know it isn't some science fiction beast after us, I think we should just stay here until the cops get here. There's eleven of us. We can take of a few hunters, but they obviously know the woods better than we do. It would be suicide to go running through the forest."

"Fuck that. I'm out of here," said Mike. Everyone started arguing and going in their own directions.

"Guys! Stop we have to stay together!" I shouted, but no one listened. This was bad. "Guys!"

We heard the loud crash of wood breaking and falling to the floor followed by a high-pitched scream. I whipped around frantically to see who was missing, but with everyone running around in chaos it was impossible to tell.

"Bells!" Jake grabbed my arm, "Get upstairs."

"But--" I started.

"Now Bella!" he shouted. Rosalie grabbed my arm and pulled me towards the stairs.

"Rose, listen to me. They can get up here too." If Edward could, then surely the hunters could. She kept running, and I couldn't let her go up there alone. "Rosalie!"

Glass shattered nearby and I was thrown to the floor. "Don't struggle pet. He wants you alive," the man growled as I tried to get him off me. Rosalie kicked him hard in the face, making his head snap back. He grabbed a shard of glass and was about to go after her when Jacob came out of nowhere and lunged into him. They both hit the floor loudly and struggled against each other. Rosalie helped me get out of the way and held me back from interfering.

One of them, and I wasn't sure which, howled in pain. "Jake!" I screamed. They were both laying deathly still, and I felt like I couldn't breath.

Relief flooded through me when Jacob slowly pushed himself up. I ran over to him and threw my arm around his neck. He hugged me back, squeezing the life out of me, but I didn't care.

"He's dead," said Rosalie, looking at the other man. Jake's grip on me tightened.

"Thank you Jacob," I whispered. I didn't want him to feel guilty about killing someone when he did it to save me and Rose.

He let me go and bent down to pull his knife out of the hunter. "They got Tanya and Eric. They took them alive. Jessica ran out and Mike went after her. They haven't come back yet, so I don't know if they're alive or not. One tried to get Seth, broke the poor kid's arm, but Leah saved him. She gave the hunter a pretty good blow with a piece of wood, but he got away."

"What about Lauren and Tyler?" I asked.

Before he could answer, we heard a slightly familiar roar from outside. Jake gripped his knife. "Stay with me." Rosalie and I followed him downstairs to find out what was going on. Right when we made it to the bottom of the steps the front door swung open.

"Sam!" Leah shouted. He ignored the rest of us and ran to her, pulling her into his arms in a crushing embrace. "Sam, what are you doing here?"

"I came back for you Lee-Lee." He kissed her forehead sweetly before turning to the rest of us, keeping his arm around Leah. "I went to the police. They think we're just a bunch of crazy college kids making up stories. They're saying that Emily was attacked by a bear, so they'll send someone from wildlife management to take care of it. I've got enough fuel now to get back to town, but again I can only take so many."

"You need to take Seth," said Leah. "The hunters broke his arm."

"I'm not going without you sis," Seth replied.

"Neither am I," said Sam.

Tyler was pacing angrily. "I'm not going. I'm not leaving these mountains until I kill that bitch who got us here."

"I'm with Tyler," said Lauren. "No one ruins my Spring Break and gets away with it." Idiots.

"It's up to you three then," Sam told Jake, Rosalie, and I. "Who's coming?"

We looked at each other. I wasn't leaving without Jake. "Rose, why don't you go?"

"No way," she replied tightly. "I told you I would leave when you did. I may be a bitch, but I'm a loyal one."

Jake looked at me pleadingly, but I shook my head. Sam realized that neither of us were coming. "I'll do everything I can to send help. I won't stop until someone gets you guys out of here," he promised.

I nodded. "Good luck."

He smiled sadly, "You too." And then they were gone.

* * *

**AN: If you have any questions about what's going on, feel free to ask them in your reviews; that way I won't forget to write the answers in future chapters. For those that log in and review, I'll send you a preview as soon as I get one written. Thanks for reading! (There may be more typos than usual. I didn't read over it because there are brownies coming out of the oven that require my immediate attention. I'm sure you can forgive me.)**


	5. Wildlife Management

**Chapter Five**

**Wildlife Management**

There were five of us now. We started out with sixteen. Six escaped. Three were captured. Two were missing. And it was only our second night in the woods. Jacob and Tyler worked together to get the dead body of the hunter out of the cabin. His words kept replaying in my mind. _He wants you alive. _Who the hell was "he" and why the fuck did he want me? I needed a drink.

"There going to come back," said Rosalie. "I really don't think we should just be sitting here prettily when they do."

She was right. We needed a plan. Otherwise we were just waiting to die. I should have went to the beach with all the normal college kids. Where the hell was Edward? Why hadn't he showed up again? Did the hunters find him? I stood up and began pacing. My mind was going crazy. I needed to calm down.

When Jacob came back in, he came right over to us. He only left my side when it was completely necessary. "We've got a few knives and some broken planks. That's not much to work with. Chances are no help will get here before those monsters come back. We need to stay in a place where they can't surprise us, where we can see 'em coming."

"Preferably where we can see them, but they can't see us," Tyler added, sharpening his own knife.

"I hate to say this, but we need to blow out all the candles. With all this light in here, they can see us with no problems," I said. I hated the idea of being in the dark, but it was better than giving the hunters any more of an advantage.

Lauren groaned but went around blowing them out anyway. "This sucks."

It took a few minutes, but our eyes eventually adjusted to the darkness. We all stayed in one room and took turns sleeping in shifts. Everyone was so alert that every little chirping cricket or rustling breeze caused immediate tension. It was my turn to sleep when the sound of footsteps ripped through the silence, waking me easily.

"Someone's coming," Lauren whispered.

We all got into position, preparing for what was to come. We weren't exactly sure what we were up against, but we would not go down without a fight. As the footsteps got closer, my hands tightened on the knife in my hand. I was trembling. The thought of stabbing that sharp blade into anyone made me nauseous.

The door flung open and Tyler lunged forward. I heard a piercing scream followed by a familiar voice. "Crowley! Stop! It's us!"

Mike and Jessica.

"Fuck!" Tyler shouted. "Are you stupid? We could have killed you?"

"Man, how were we supposed to know you would be here waiting to attack?" Mike shouted back.

"Where the hell did you go anyway?" Lauren asked.

Jessica was panting. "I freaked out and ran. I know it was stupid, but I panicked. Mike came after me. I'm so sorry for leaving."

"You should be!" Lauren screamed.

"Just back the fuck off, Lauren," Mike ranted, stepping in between the two girls.

"Shut up!" Rosalie shouted, getting everyone's attention. "When those hunters come back, I'd like to be able to hear them. I'm not going to die because you people can't keep your tempers in check. These two assholes ran off. Now they're back. Either grab a knife and get ready with the rest of us or take your chances in the woods."

Would now be a bad time to start a slow clap?

Fuming, they did as she said. Jessica didn't want to hold a knife, so Mike found her one of the broken planks. I may not have wanted to stab someone, but if it came down to them or us, I didn't want to take my chances with an oversized stick.

"Bella," Tyler whispered. "You said you snuck out. You saw them." I nodded slowly, unsure of what he was getting at. "I need you to show me where."

"No way," Jake cut in.

"We can't just wait for them, Black!" he whispered furiously.

Jacob yanked me behind him. "If you want to get yourself killed, be my guest, but you are not taking Bella along with you." Tyler huffed, but backed off. Jacob wrapped his arm around me. "You are not going out there, do you hear me?"

I nodded. He wouldn't get any arguments out of me there.

The tense waiting game was back, only now we had two more people in our circle. I couldn't help but wonder what was happening to Tanya and Eric. From what I had heard, Royce was getting everything he did to and Rosalie and more. Tanya and Eric had their faults like everyone else, but they didn't deserve this.

"I'm going to use the bathroom," I told Rosalie. It was Jake's turn to sleep, so I knew it was my only opportunity to go without an escort.

Apparently that wasn't a good idea. I was just washing my hands when I felt a blade at my neck and a hand cover my mouth. "Bella, listen to me. I'm not going to hurt you if you just do what I say." Shit. Tyler. "I need you to show me where you saw them." The blade pressed closer, almost piercing my skin. "If you don't, I will fucking cut you. Do you understand?" He pulled the knife back a little so I could nod. "Good girl. Let's go."

I couldn't panic. Tyler Crowley had lost his mind, but I couldn't do anything rash. I believed him when he said he would cut me. He kept the blade at my throat as we snuck out the side door. Someone would hear us. Surely, someone would come after us.

"Tyler," I whispered. "Please, I don't have my knife. They'll kill me. Don't make me go over there." We were getting closer to the rock ledge where some sort of secret tunnel or cave was hidden.

"I'm sorry. I can't take you back now, Bella. Be careful." He hugged me, and then he left, heading for the ledge.

I started to go back when I heard a crash followed my Tyler's yelling. I turned around to find out what was happening, to help him if I could, but I was pulled behind a tree, a hand once again clamping over my mouth. "You have to be quiet. There's too many of them." It was Edward.

"What about Tyler?" I whispered. I could still hear him yelling in pain.

"There's nothing we can--" He put his hand back over my mouth and pressed himself against me, trapping me against the large tree.

"Well, well, well. Look what we have here," another voice purred in the distance. "Mr. Crowley."

I clinched my eyes shut, willing myself not to make a sound.

"The question is, are you wanted dead, or are you wanted alive." Please say alive. "Oh, I see it doesn't matter, so I get to choose."

"You sick fuck!" Shut up Tyler!

"What do you think Victoria?" the male hunter, probably James, asked.

Tyler's howl of pain was cut off by a sickening crunch. "He was a little too noisy for my taste," the woman replied.

I was frozen. They killed him. I had just stood there and listened as they killed Tyler.

"Bella," Edward whispered. I didn't know how long we had been standing there. "You need to get back to the cabin."

"They killed him." I couldn't think about anything else.

"Damn it, Bella. They're gong to come back. Come on." He threw me over his shoulder with ease and walked as quickly and as quietly as he could manage in the opposite direction.

We were almost to the cabin when I heard Jake's voice. "Put her down or I'll kill you, you fucking bastard."

"I'm not the bad guy, kid. I'm taking her back to the cabin. If you don't want to get your ass killed, I suggest you come too." Edward's voice was calm but deadly. He kept walking, not caring if Jacob was with us or not. Luckily, he was.

When we got inside, he put me down. "Your friend Crowley is dead."

Jessica gasped and buried her face in Mike's side. Jacob pulled me into a side hug. "Who the hell are you?" he asked.

"That doesn't matter," he answered tersely. I'm not here to bond with you people. I'm here to tell you to stay the fuck out of my way. If anyone else gets the bright idea to go looking for those monsters, you'll have more than just them to deal with. I've been working too hard for some stupid college kids on a power trip to fuck everything up."

Rosalie crossed her arms. "Listen asshole, you're not the only one going through hell, alright? There's some psychotic hunters out there picking us off one by one. We're not going looking for them."

He sneered, "Crowley did."

"And he's dead," I snapped. "None of us knew he was going out there. He flipped out and held a knife to my throat to get me out of here, but now he's gone, so let's drop it already. Arguing about it isn't going to get us anywhere." I lowered my voice. "You can't do this on your own. You need us as much as we need you."

"We don't need him," snarled Mike.

Edward flung a knife at him, causing Jessica to shriek. It stuck into the wall right beside his arm. Mike tried to move, but his sleeve was caught on the knife.

"Damn," said Lauren, her eyes going back and forth between Edward and the Mike.

Jacob pulled the knife out of the wall. "I don't care who you are or what you're doing out here." He offered it to him. "I want to get out of these mountains alive. If that means I have to help you, then I'll do it. I've already killed one of them."

"Laurent," said Edward. "I heard them talking about it. They weren't even upset. They've decided to take you alive instead."

"Who else do they want alive?" Jessica whispered. "_Who?_" she asked more forcefully.

"I don't know," Edward growled.

The sun was starting to come up. A few rays of light were peaking through the heavy trees. It was day three, and we were down another person.

A loud boom caused us all to flinch. "What the hell was that?" Mike asked as Edward pushed past him to get to the window.

"Something exploded," he said, seeing the flames in the distance.

"That's good though right," said Jacob. "Someone will see the smoke and send help."

"Chances are, that was your help," Edward replied. Lauren went to stand beside him, a little too close for my liking. When she put her hand on his arm, he glared at her. "I don't like to be touched."

She scowled and went over to the sofa. "So what are we doing now? Waiting to die again?"

"Bitch," Rosalie grumbled.

"There's somebody out there," Edward noticed. "They're coming this way."

Mike gripped his knife. "I'll take care of it."

"It's not a hunter," said Edward, taking the blade away from him before he did something stupid.

The door opened and a huge man practically fell in. "Bear my ass." He panted a little before looking up. "Damn. Please tell me you're not with the woman who just blew up my truck."

"Who the hell are you?" Rosalie asked.

The man stood up and brushed off his pants. "Emmett McCarty. I'm with wildlife management." He offered her his hand, but she just stared at him. "You're supposed to shake it."

She frowned, but shook his hand. "Rosalie Hale."

He smiled then, showing his dimpled cheeks. "Pleasure to meet you ma'am." He released her hand and looked around. "Judging by the look of things, I'd say it's not a bear that's got y'all trapped in here."

"No shit," Rose replied.

"What are we going to do now?" I asked. "Obviously, someone will realize you're missing and come looking for you, but who knows how long that will be."

"What about the jeep in the garage?" Jessica asked.

Lauren scoffed, "It doesn't work, stupid."

"There's a jeep in the garage?" Rosalie asked lividly. "Why the hell didn't anyone tell me?" She stormed out of the room on her way to the garage.

"Is it safe to follow her or no?" Emmett asked, pointing with his thumb over his shoulder in the direction Rosalie had gone.

"You'd be safer with a bear," I joked half-heartedly.

We all followed her anyway, curious as to what she was doing. She had the hood up and was bent over checking out the parts.

"Rose, I already tried everything. We don't have the parts to fix it," said Jacob.

She continued to tinker around. I had no clue what she was doing. I couldn't even change a tire, so there was no point in me even looking. Emmett peeked over her shoulder. "If I can get back to my truck, we may be able to salvage some of the parts."

Edward cut in, "You said your truck exploded."

"It was actually the ATV in the truck bed. I was hauling it with me for the places my truck couldn't go. When it exploded, I crashed into a tree," he admitted.

"How many bullets do you have in that gun?" Rosalie asked, pointing to his belt.

"It's fully loaded," he replied. "Why?"

"Because if I'm going shopping, I'm gonna need a bodyguard." She closed the hood.

I shook my head. "Rose, you're not going out there. It's been too long since the hunters were here. That means they're probably on their way now."

"She's right," said Jacob. "But we need those parts."

"We'll distract them," said Edward. "I trust you know how to use that thing," he nodded towards the gun.

"Hell yeah," said Emmett. He was a little too excited about this.

Everyone was working together planning out where to go and what to do when the hunters arrived. Rosalie didn't seem worried, so I tried not to be either. I wasn't succeeding. This whole thing was freaking me out, and unfortunately Edward noticed. "Suck it up, Bella."

"Bite me, Edward," I whispered angrily.

Before I could blink, he had me pinned against the wall with my bottom lip between his teeth. "Any other ideas?" he replied calmly, his lips brushing mine.

I could think of a few.

"Are you two finished?" Lauren asked, causing Edward to let go of me. She shot a glare my way, but I couldn't find it in me to care.

Rosalie rolled her eyes and went over to Emmett. "Let's go big guy. I'm ready to fix that jeep and get the hell out of here."

I didn't like this, but right now it was our only hope.

* * *

**AN: I killed Tyler, but I brought in Emmett. If you leave a review, I'll send you a small preview of the next chapter once I get it written. Thanks for reading!**


	6. Distractions

**Chapter Six**

**Distractions**

"Rose, are you sure about this?" I asked as she fixed her ponytail. Leave it to Rosalie to look perfect on a suicide mission.

"Hell no," she replied confidently. "But I'm not trusting any of those other clowns with this job. If I want it done right, I have to do it myself." She bent down to tighten her shoelaces. "Besides, I've got the big guy with the gun, and you'll have Jacob and the sexy mountain man."

"Let's go, woman!" Emmett boomed. We were going to have to teach him how to tone it down if he wanted to make it out of here alive. It was hard to get angry at him though with those damn dimples. "Don't you worry there little Bella. I'll bring her back in one piece." He winked at me and headed for the door.

Rosalie followed him with her eyes. "He's… different." Then she brought her attention back to me. "I'd hug you goodbye or something, but I know I'll be back. Why waste emotion?"

"See you later," I nodded, and she headed to the door.

"Ready my lady?" Emmett asked.

"Nope, but let's go," she replied. Like a gentleman, he opened the door for her, and they were on their way. Hopefully, they would make it back.

The truck couldn't be too far away considering the amount of time it took Emmett to reach us after the explosion. If everything went according to plan, they shouldn't be gone longer than an hour. I gripped the handle of my knife and hurried up the stairs to get in my position as a lookout. If the hunters were spotted, we each had a glass to break to signal the others without speaking. I could see Emmett and Rosalie as they moved as quietly but as quickly as they could manage. When they were out of sight, I breathed a small sigh of relief. At least they had made it that far.

My heart raced when I heard the glass shatter from down the hall. They were coming. I quickly backed away from the window and nearly screamed when someone bumped into me from behind. "There's only two of them." It was Edward. "One man. One woman." James and Victoria. It had to be.

"What do I do?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper.

"Stay the fuck out of the way," he replied harshly before pushing me into a closet and shutting the door, leaving me alone in the dark.

Like hell was I going to sit there and hide while everyone else put their lives on the line. The only problem was, he was leaning against the door. Why didn't he leave? I couldn't say anything. As angry as I was right now, I didn't want to risk him getting hurt because of me.

The hunters didn't enter quietly. I heard the crashes, one downstairs, one upstairs. "Jessica! Move!" I heard Jacob shout. I pushed harder on the door. I had to get out there. I needed to help them, but Edward kept me trapped inside.

"Riley!" An unfamiliar voice screamed. I guess it wasn't James and Victoria after all. "I'll fu--" There was a loud smack followed by silence.

Edward finally stepped away from the door, and I tore out. "Are you out of your fucking mind? How could you do that? What if they needed us?" I jabbed at his chest with every question. I was pissed. He had just stood there while the others fought.

He grabbed my shoulders and pinned me to the wall. "They want you alive," he growled. "Those people are monsters. As far as I'm concerned, the ones that die are the lucky ones." He let go of me and stormed out of the room.

"Bells!" I heard Jake call.

I ran out to meet him. "Jacob, what happened?"

He hugged me briefly. "The man's dead, but the woman's still alive. I was going to fight the man Riley, but Jessica got in the way when she came running in without looking. She was about to get stabbed when Mike got Riley from behind. The woman started after him, but Jessica got her with a plank. They're tying her up downstairs."

We both went down to find out what was going on. Everyone was in the living room. Mike was holding onto Jessica while Lauren just sat with her legs crossed and arms folded. The girl tied to a chair in the middle looked no older than me. Edward walked over with a bucket of water and doused her with it, causing her to awaken with a loud gasp. "Who are you?" he demanded.

"I'm not telling you anything!" she snarled. She was fighting against the ropes, determined to get free no matter how badly she hurt herself.

Edward finally snapped and pinned her down. "You're going to tell me who he is and what he wants." He pulled out his knife, "Or I'm going to start removing body parts. You don't need your fingers to talk… or your eyes for that matter. Where should I start?"

Holy shit! He was scary. "I don't know everything," she grumbled. "My name is Bree. I just started working for him. This was my first hunt. It wasn't supposed to be dangerous. We were just supposed to distract you, but Riley insisted that we do more. He thought it would impress Victoria if he brought back one of you."

"Distract us from what?" I asked. She only smirked. "Distract us from _what?_" I screamed again.

"Did you really think they'd let the blonde escape?" she laughed wickedly.

"Rosalie," I whispered, my blood running cold. We were supposed to be the ones distracting them, but they were just distracting us, so they could go after Rose. "I'm going to find her."

Edward whipped around. "The fuck you are."

Jacob stood beside me. "I'm coming with you."

"No need," Lauren said with a slightly bored tone. She motioned to the window. "They're almost back."

We could hear them as they came up on the porch. Jake opened the door for them. "Shit! What happened?" They were both covered in blood and Emmett was leaning heavily on Rosalie. Jacob helped her get him over to the sofa.

"We were at the truck when Emmett took an arrow to the leg. It missed the bone and went all the way through," Rosalie explained shakily. "I broke the end off and pushed it through. I tried to stop the bleeding." She shook her head, "That fucking bus driver, she was about to shoot him again, but I got her first. I put a bullet through her head."

"I told you to take the gun and leave," Emmett said weakly. He had lost a lot of blood.

"I know," she snapped, but then her features softened a little. "I couldn't."

Edward, who had left the room while Rosalie was talking, returned with a ripped up sheet and a bottle of liquid. He removed the make-do bandage Rosalie had made out of her jacket and tore Emmett's pant leg away, revealing the wound. He opened the bottle and poured it all over, causing Emmett to nearly howl and everyone else to wince or recoil.

"It'll stop infection," said Edward before tying the sheet tightly around the wound.

"Yeah, but it stings like a mo-fo," Emmett replied through clenched teeth.

"Did you at least get the parts?" Lauren asked impatiently.

Rosalie scowled at her before dropping her backpack on the floor. The parts clanged together as proof. "I said I would."

"You also said you'd wait 'til your wedding night, but that didn't happen" Lauren said quietly, but Rosalie still heard her.

"You fucking bitch!" She jumped up, pulling out the gun and pointing it right at Lauren.

"Rose, calm down," said Jacob. Rosalie's whole body trembled with anger as she glared at Lauren. Needless to say, nobody made any sudden movements, and Lauren was frozen in her seat.

"Rosie," Emmett said softly. Her eyes snapped to his. He held out his hand. "Don't waste my bullets." She relaxed a little and reluctantly put the gun in his hand.

Lauren got up to leave the room. "Psychotic bitch," she mumbled a little too loudly. Rosalie laid her ass out. I'm pretty sure there were little people inside of me doing the wave.

Rose picked up the bag. "I'm going to get started on the jeep."

"Why bother?" Bree asked. Shit. I almost forgot she was even there. "They'll never let you finish. Don't you people get it? They built this place. They sent you here. Do you honestly think you're safer here than you are in the woods? They know right where to find you and just how to get in."

"Why?" Jessica asked. "Why are they doing this?"

She smiled, "For fun."

"Maybe we should go," I suggested. "She's right. They know where to find us. We're just sitting here waiting for them."

"Where would we go?" Mike asked. "If any help is coming, they're coming here."

"If any help is coming, they'll probably die too," Jacob argued.

"Of course you guys aren't worried," Mike scoffed. "They want you alive."

"And you think that's a good thing?" I retorted. "They don't seem like the type to be hospitable to houseguests, Mike." I caught Bree smirking out of the corner of my eye. "And can we just kill her already?"

She shook her head, "Silly Swan. You need me for information."

"If we're going to die anyway, what does it matter?" I snapped.

Jake grabbed my arm and pulled me back. "You don't want to kill anybody, Bells, not even a piece of shit like her."

Emmett interrupted, "If you guys want to go, I can probably make enough noise to make them think six people are still here. There's no way I can go with you though. I would just slow you down." He motioned to his leg.

There was no way that was going to happen. "We're not leaving you here alone, Em. It's our fault you're even up here."

He shrugged, "Suit yourself, but I don't mind taking one for the team."

"Shut up," said Rosalie. "We're not leaving your stupid ass." I think she was developing a soft spot for said ass.

"I'm going to get rid of the other body," said Edward. "Try not to do anything stupid while I'm gone."

"Victoria's not going to be happy about that. Riley was her little pet," said Bree. Then she turned her attention to Mike, "And she'll know you did it."

Jessica gagged her and looked at everyone else apologetically. "Sorry. She's freaking me out."

I watched as Edward walked out of the cabin with the body thrown over his shoulder. "Is it safe for him to be by himself?"

"He's survived out there alone before. I'm sure he'll be fine," said Jake. Then he went with Rosalie to the garage.

Mike and Jessica went upstairs to keep a lookout. Lauren joined them when she finally came to. I sat down next to Emmett on the couch, keeping an eye on Bree. "So what's your story little Bella? What brings you to the big bad mountains of Tennessee?"

I snorted, "I wanted an adventure." Oh the irony.

"How's that working out for ya?" he grinned.

"Just dandy," I replied.

He lightly bumped into my shoulder. "Things are gonna be alright."

"How do you know that?" I asked.

"Hell if I know," he laughed. "I'm just an optimistic guy." My smile turned into a yawn. I couldn't remember the last time I slept. "Why don't you take a little nap? I'll wake you up if anything happens," Emmett suggested.

"Thanks." I helped him prop his leg up before making myself comfortable on the other end of the sofa. I was surprised at how easily I was able to fall asleep.

When I did wake up, I was no longer on the couch, but I was in my bed. I sat up quickly and noticed Edward standing at the window with his back to me. "How did I get up here?" I asked.

"I carried you," he answered, not bothering to face me. "You were going to get a crick in your neck sleeping on that sofa."

"Why do you care?" I replied.

"Why does it matter?" he shot back. It was quiet for a moment. "There's food on the nightstand. You need to eat something."

I was annoyed that he was telling me what to do, but I was hungry enough to let it go. While I ate, he stayed at the window, watching for any sign of the hunters. "Where is everyone else?"

"Around," he answered. Apparently my questions annoyed him.

"If I piss you off so much, why do you bother hanging around me?" He turned around, glaring. "Why don't you--" His lips slammed into mine, cutting off anything else I had to say. My back hit the headboard with the force, but he only pressed harder. He nipped at bottom lip before thrusting his tongue into my mouth. I had never been kissed more roughly or that damn good in my life. "What was that for?" I asked, when he finally pulled back.

"To shut you up," he replied before getting off the bed.

"Asshole," I grumbled. I started to get up when we heard a scream from downstairs. Edward grabbed my wrist and pulled me behind him as he rushed down to see what was going on. He pushed past Lauren to get in the living room.

Bree was slumped over against the ropes with an arrow sticking out of her chest.

"Dude, get away from the windows. That shit came out of nowhere," said Emmett.

"What happened?" asked Rosalie, running in without Jake.

"I took the gag out to see if I could get anything out of her. She was just about to start talking when that happened," Emmett explained. "They're out there watching us. They knew she was about to say something she wasn't supposed to, so they killed her."

"They're toying with us. They can kill us at any moment, just like her, but where would be the fun in that?" said Edward.

Jessica whimpered, "So you're saying we don't even have a chance."

"I'm saying this is a game, and we better start playing." Seriously, that guy could say the creepiest shit sometimes.

"How the fuck do we do that?" Mike asked. He still wasn't an Edward fan.

Edward pulled out his knife. "Looks like we're going to have to do a little hunting of our own."

* * *

**AN: I have a cold right now, and my voice is kinda scratchy, so when I read this aloud, it sounds pretty damn creepy. It probably amuses me a little more than it should. I haven't started the next chapter yet (I'll do that tomorrow), but I'll come up with a preview for reviewers. Thanks for reading!**


	7. Playing The Game

**Chapter Seven**

**Playing the Game**

We were all going to die. I used to be an optimistic person, but that shit went out the window as soon as the hot mountain man decided we were going to hunt the hunters. Oh no, wait. Scratch that. He decided that _they _were going to hunt the hunters. I was supposed to hide in a closet somewhere, so I wouldn't get hurt. Well, there was no fucking way that was going to happen.

Rosalie was going to continue working on the jeep. It seemed like an impossible job, but she was determined to get it done. Emmett couldn't leave due to his leg, but I was almost positive he would have stayed with her regardless.

Mike and Jessica were going to stick together. I was fairly certain they had just participated in a good luck fuck before heading out, but I was past the point of judging people. I was actually kind of jealous; not that I wanted either of them, but you know.

Lauren was in bitch mode. Was it bad that I wanted the hunters to get her first? At least the rest of us would be able to die in peace. I contemplated just stabbing her myself, but I was trying to put off murdering someone as long as possible. I didn't think I would enjoy it very much. Damn conscience.

I was the most worried about Jacob. A couple of days ago we were still trying to get over the whole breaking up thing. Now, I didn't know what I would do if something happened to him. Breakup aside, he was probably my best friend. He wanted me to stay safe, but he knew me well enough to know I wasn't going to hide. Once I slipped past Edward, Jacob would be waiting for me. He promised.

If the hunters should be afraid of anyone, it would be Edward. He had already survived a few nights in the woods. He knew how to hide. He knew the most about them. He also had more reasons to fight. We were fighting for our lives. He was fighting for his, his sister's. and for some reason beyond me, mine.

"Bella." I ignored him. I was so pissed with the way he was treating me. He pushed me against the wall, trapping me there with his arms. "Stop being a brat. I'm trying to save your fucking life."

"You're forcing me to hide while everyone else fights. Why just me? Why not Jessica? Why not Lauren?" I asked forcefully.

"I don't give a damn about Jessica or Lauren. If they want to get themselves killed, that's their decision. The last thing I need to worry about while I'm trying to kill those bastards is you doing something stupid," he replied.

I glared at him. "If I want to get _myself _killed, it's my decision. You don't even know me, so you shouldn't give a damn about me either." I tried to push past him, but he pinned me to the wall.

"I don't care if you're angry. Just get in the damn closet, and don't come out for anyone but me," he demanded.

"What if you don't make it back?" I asked.

"I will," he replied just as coolly.

When he stepped back, I stormed up the stairs. I wasn't going to make it out of the cabin with him still there anyway. He would probably end up tying me up or something. I went into a closet and slammed the door behind me. Maybe I was acting like a brat, but he was still being a jackass. He had absolutely no right to tell me what to do. I got that he wanted to save my life for whatever reason. However, I didn't want to live as a coward while my friends went out fighting.

I waited until I knew they were gone before slipping out of the closet. I made my way carefully through the cabin, making sure to stay away from any windows. It would really suck to go out like Bree had. When I made it outside, Jacob wasn't there. He promised he would meet around back. Jake never broke a promise, so where the hell was he? He had to have been nearby, so I stayed low and crept around to the side.

"Oh my God," I breathed. Jacob was lying unconscious on the ground. I dropped down beside him and checked for a pulse. He was alive. "Jake," I shook him. "Jacob, please wake up."

I didn't know what to do. I couldn't scream for help. That would only attract hunters. I couldn't carry him inside. I wouldn't even be able to get him up the steps. Finally, I did the best I could and dragged him underneath the porch. I left him briefly to get rid of the tracks that his body left, but then crawled back under, lifting his head and placing it on my lap. I prayed that he would wake up soon.

Through the boards, I could see someone walking by. I was terrified that they would find us or Rose and Emmett, so I didn't make a sound as others joined them. There were at least five. "Please," a familiar voice begged. "Just let her go. She hasn't done anything to you." Mike. Shit. What could I do? There were too many of them. If I went out there, they would kill me and Jake. Jake wasn't able to fight back. I couldn't let him die like that.

"Now, now, let's be fair," Victoria purred. "You killed my pet, so I get to kill yours." I could see her through the cracks. Her hair was wild and fiery. She held a gagged and crying Jessica in front of her with a knife to her throat.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he pleaded. I hated this. I just wanted to go home.

"You were the one to kill Riley, were you not?" she replied. Her voice was deceivingly pleasant. "Do you know how hard it is to find someone willing to do whatever it is you ask?" She put her face next to Jessica's hair and breathed in deeply. "What a shame. Aro would have loved you." Who the fuck was Aro? "Stand him up." Two men grabbed Mike and brought him to his feet so he was standing face to face with Jessica. "Say goodbye."

"Jess, I'm so sorry," he cried.

"Aw," Victoria cooed. "How-" She jerked the knife across Jessica's throat; blood poured from the wound. "-sweet." Mike broke down then. I cried silently along with him, burying my face in Jacob's chest. "Kill him." I heard him gagging as they stabbed him, and I clinched my eyes shut. "We need to get the bodies back to the house. We'll tell Aro that little bitch Bree killed Stanley before we could get to her."

"He's not gonna be happy," one of the men replied.

Victoria snarled at him. "As long as we bring the others alive, he'll forgive us. Now stick with the story."

"They left the cabin," he argued. "If they get away--"

"They won't!" she growled. Then she composed herself. "Do you really think they would wander around out there for long? They'll be back."

I just wished they would leave. I was terrified that Jake might wake up and make some sort of noise.

"But what if they find _her_?" another one asked.

Again, I had no idea who they were talking about, but it seemed to piss Victoria off. She turned her knife on the other hunter. "They. Won't." She pressed the blade to his skin just enough to break through. "Stop questioning me, and let's go." They didn't argue anymore.

I don't how long it took me to stop crying. There wasn't anything I could have done to save them, was there? I may have been killed, but I could have taken at least one of them out first.

"Bells?" Jake rasped.

"Jacob," I whispered. "Are you okay? What the hell happened to you?"

"I don't know. I got hit from behind," he answered. He looked around. "Bells, where are we?"

"Under the porch." He looked confused, so I explained, "I couldn't drag you inside. Jake, Mike and Jessica are dead. Victoria killed them. I don't know about Edward and Lauren."

He winced as he sat up a little. He was too big to sit up all the way. He pulled me into his arms for a comforting hug. "Let's get out of here, Bells. I'll fucking carry Emmett if I have to, but we're leaving these mountains."

We crawled out from under the cabin and went back inside. I got him some ice to put on his head where he had been hit. What I didn't understand was why he was left there. I heard someone coming, so Jake and I got out of sight.

"Why did you save my life then?" Lauren's aggravating voice asked.

"I went out there to kill the hunters. You just happened to be there when I did," Edward snapped back.

Jake stepped into view. "They got Mike and Jessica. I was out cold, but Bella saw everything." He pulled me over beside him.

Edward glared at me. He had blood stains on the front of his shirt. "How did you manage that from upstairs?"

I didn't have time for his shit. "They're working for somebody named Aro. Does that ring any bells?"

"What else did they say?" he asked.

"One of them was freaking out because we left the cabin. He was afraid that we would get away. Another was scared that we would find someone, a woman," I explained.

He was suddenly in my face. "What woman?"

"I don't know. They didn't say. They just said 'her'. Victoria said that we wouldn't be able to find her." Something told me he knew more than he was letting on.

"Man, we need to get out of here," said Jacob.

Edward backed away from me and rubbed the back of his neck. "If we go, we can't go back the same way you came in. That's what they would expect."

"What about Rose and Emmett?" I wondered.

"Who cares?" Lauren asked. "Let's just get the fuck out of here."

"Who's stopping you, bitch?" I snapped.

Jacob caught me by the arm. "Let's go talk to them. We'll figure something out." He tugged me along as he headed for the garage. "Emmett, we're coming in." I guess he didn't want to get shot.

Rosalie was bent over the engine, doing who knows what. Emmett sat on the table behind her. I was pretty sure he had been checking out her ass. He smiled at us when we came in. "Long time, no see!"

"We're leaving. I'm gonna carry your ass," said Jacob.

"Shouldn't you buy me a drink first?" he asked.

Rosalie stood up straight and wiped her hands. "Where's everybody else?"

"We're all that's left," I told her.

"Shit," said Emmett. "I'm sorry."

"They don't want us to leave the cabin, so that's what we're doing. If you want to come, we'll figure out a way to get you out of here," Edward explained. It seemed a little out of character after the way he talked to Lauren, but she had that effect on people.

Emmett looked at Rose, "What do you say, Rosie?"

"I think I can fix this," she replied, motioning to the jeep. "I just need a little more time."

"We don't have time," said Jacob.

"I'll stay with her," said Emmett. "I would slow you guys down anyway. Just promise you won't come back, because I'll shoot anything that comes through that door."

Edward nodded. "We should probably try to rest a little before we go. We won't make it far if we're too tired to move."

"Bring some pillows in," Emmett suggested. "I'd rather you not be unconscious without somebody there as a lookout." He held up his gun to show that he would shoot for us too.

We loaded up our packs with everything we could find that we might need. Jacob pulled a couple of mattresses into the garage for us. I sat down, not able to sleep yet. Jake lay down on one side of me and passed out. I was surprised at quiet Rosalie was as she worked on the jeep. That made me feel the tiniest bit better about her staying. Maybe the hunters wouldn't hear her. With the four of us trying to leave, they would probably come for us first anyway.

Edward sat down on my other side. "You're not sleeping."

"You're observant," I replied sarcastically.

He frowned. "You need to go to sleep."

I huffed. "I can't just go to sleep, Edward. There are psychotic people after us, we're about to run for our lives again, I just saw two of my friends get murdered, I'm about to leave two of my friends behind, and I-" He touched my face and caught my lips in a quick, surprisingly gentle kiss. I stared at him in shock as he pulled back and took his hand away. "What was that f--" I shook my head. "Never mind." I already knew the answer. "You wanted to shut me up."

"Bella, go to sleep," he said quietly. "I'll wake you up when it's time to go. Please just get some rest."

"I'm so fucking scared," I whispered.

"You would be an idiot if you weren't," he replied honestly.

I smiled sadly. "Can't you just lie to me?" I wanted to hear that everything was going to be okay. "I want to feel safe."

"I'll lie _with _you," he replied, lying down on the mattress. He tugged me down to lie next to him, and I somehow managed to be quiet for only a moment.

"No offense, but you kinda freak me out sometimes. I'm not sure this makes me feel safe either," I admitted.

"Go to sleep, Bella," he groaned. I closed my eyes and eventually exhaustion took over.

My dreams were horrible. I kept seeing Mike and Jessica and even Tyler. Victoria kept smiling at me while she killed them. Then it changed. I saw Jacob and Rosalie and Edward. I watched them all die while I hid and did nothing.

"Bella, it's time to go." Edward's voice brought me out of my nightmare. He helped me stand up and handed me my backpack.

"Thanks," I mumbled before turning to Rosalie. I didn't want to say goodbye. I hated leaving her here. "If you die, I'll kill you."

She smirked, "That was so unbelievably stupid. I'd hug you, but… Oh what the hell." She pulled me to her, wrapping her arms around me. "I'll pass you guys on my way out. Stick out your thumb, and maybe I'll give you a lift."

I hugged her back. "You better. I'll see you soon."

We let go and I turned to Emmett. He grinned and held out his arms, so of course I hugged him too. "Don't worry, little Bella. I won't let anything happen to her. I think I might like her a little. She'd never give me a chance if I let her get killed."

"You're just an optimistic guy," I smiled, repeating his words from earlier.

"Exactly," he laughed. "If anything, you should be tickled that you came on this trip. Otherwise, you would have never met me." Rosalie snorted. He winked at her, "I'm wearing you down, woman." Then he turned his attention back to me. "It was nice to meet you. I'll be seeing you."

"Nice to meet you too, Em," I replied. I kissed him on the cheek before joining the others.

Jake smiled at me. "Ready to go, Bells?"

I nodded. "Hell yeah."

Lauren, Jacob, Edward, and I left the cabin and began our trek out of the damn mountains.

* * *

**AN: Hey guys. I was actually kind of sad to kill Jessica and Mike, but I've already let too many people escape, so they just had to go. If you have questions about anything, feel free to ask in your reviews. I'll either tell you the answer or tell you around which chapter the answer will be. Also, I'm pretty stoked that someone nominated this story and Bella Swan: Kidnapper for The Cullen Awards. Whoever did that, I think you're pretty awesome. There's more info about that on my profile. Um... Oh, if you leave a review, I'll reply with a preview of the next chapter. It might be a couple of days since I haven't started the next one yet. The last time I made up the preview before I wrote the chapter, so it was really short. I want to be able to send you guys more than just a line, so bear with me. Ok, that's all. Thanks for reading!**


	8. Peeing in the Woods with Lauren Mallory

**Chapter Eight**

**Peeing in the Woods with Lauren Mallory  
**

Maybe I had read one too many books in my lifetime. I was always searching for the hidden agendas and the unexpected twists. Now that I was more rested, my mind was going crazy with the possibilities, and most of them centered around Edward. I needed to know why he was so protective of me and no one else. He couldn't know me. I was certain that I would have remembered meeting him before. Did I remind him of his sister? That question put me on a different train of thought. He hadn't found his sister, so why was he leaving?

I watched him as he walked ahead of me. He had a nice ass, but that was neither here nor there. I noticed that Lauren was looking too, and the desire to stab her grew just a little more. It wasn't fair that Mike and Jessica were dead when people like her still skipped merrily through the woods. I didn't really want anyone to die, but I could think of several ways I would enjoy not killing her.

A chill pill would do me nicely right about now.

Jake was walking next to me. He had a nasty bump on his head, but he didn't seemed to concerned about. I just wish I knew who the hell had hit him and just left him there. Maybe he was heavier than they thought.

"Stop thinking so hard, Bells," he said quietly.

"There's no need to whisper. We're all going to die anyway," Lauren half shouted.

Edward whipped around and stalked over to her. "If you don't want your tongue cut out, I suggest you keep your voice down."

She glared back at him but kept her mouth shut.

"Damn," Jacob whispered. "I was kinda hoping she'd give him a reason to do it." It seemed I wasn't the only one who needed that chill pill.

"Let's keep moving," Edward barked. He was so damn bossy.

I hated the mountains. They were pretty to look at, but hell to walk through. My feet were never going to recover, but my thighs would be in excellent shape. "If we make it out of here, I'm gonna go fishing with Charlie."

"He'll like that," Jake smiled. "We're making it out of here, Bells."

"Maybe he'll even let me drive the boat," I added.

"No way in hell," he chuckled.

I frowned at him. "Shut up. I bet I would be an excellent boat driver."

"Sure, sure," he replied. I could not believe how little faith he had in my boat driving skills. I could drive a truck. How much different could it be? "Make sure you write an article about it for the Forks Forum."

"Jerk," I grumbled. "I have you know I touched lives with my little newspaper column. How else would those people develop such good taste in books and music?"

"No one read that column," he teased.

"They must have. How do you think you got so much business in your garage? I recommended you," I replied smugly.

He rolled his eyes and draped his arm across my shoulders.

It felt like we had been walking for days when I wasn't even sure it had been hours. Looking at my watch would have been a good idea, but it was in my pack, and I didn't feel like stopping to dig it out.

We stopped for only a few minutes to eat and take care of any other business that would have been better done in a nice bathroom instead of the woods. Lauren grabbed me by the arm. "I have to pee." I must have missed the memo that I was supposed to care.

"You've never had any trouble dropping your panties without my help before," I replied.

"Just come on," she pulled me along with her.

"Seriously? Isn't life bad enough right now without you subjecting me to this?" Peeing in the woods with Lauren Mallory was not my idea of a good time. However, I sucked it up. I didn't really want to go with the guys either.

"Didn't you used to be nicer?" she asked rudely.

I glared at her. Was she for real with that shit? "Lauren, you've been a bitch to me and everybody else this entire trip, and you expect me to be nice to you? All this fresh air is making you delusional for some reason." I was usually a nice person, but a girl could only take so much.

She was inspecting the different trees and bushes. "But I've always been a bitch. You've never had a problem with it before."

"Before, I had the luxury of getting away from you," I replied truthfully. Hell, if were going to die, I might as well get it all out.

"Well get used to it already," she huffed. "I'm getting really tired of your whining."

I debated taking out my knife. I needed it in case the hunters came. I could not use it on Lauren. "Get used to it," I growled back.

Lauren finally found a place that was acceptable to her ridiculously high standards. We were in the fucking mountains. How is one tree better than another? It's a damn tree. "Could you make some type of noise? I don't want you to be able to hear me."

"Sure Lauren. I'll just sing us a merry little tune while you piss behind a tree," I replied sarcastically. "Do you have any requests?"

She didn't reply. I was surprised. I had been half expecting her to name a song. Hell, I probably would have even sang it. Maybe a round of "If You're Happy and You Know It" would lighten everyone's spirits.

Soon we were headed back to join the guys. I hadn't realized that we had gone so far away. I was even more surprised that they hadn't come looking for us yet. That couldn't be a good thing. Not a moment later, I heard a loud painful cry. It didn't sound like Edward or Jacob, but that just meant someone else was out there with them.

"We have to run," said Lauren.

"_What_? No, we have to help them," I argued, moving towards the sound.

"No!" she grabbed my arm. "Are you insane? They'll kill us just like they did the others. We have to get out of here. We stand a chance while they're distracted."

Even though I didn't like Lauren, I understood where she was coming from. "I don't want to die either, but chances are, we're going to. We need to at least try to help them." My words sounded brave, but I was scared shitless. It was a feeling I had become very familiar with on this trip.

"I'm not going. I'm leaving with or without you," she replied.

"Good luck." I pulled my arm away from her and continued on with my original path. I heard her footsteps going in the opposite direction behind me. I really wanted to go with her. I almost did, but then I heard another howl. Jacob's. I knew both he and Edward were going to be pissed at me for showing up, but they would just have to get over it.

I had only made it a few feet when someone stepped out in front of me. "Hello Miss Swan."

My fucking heart nearly stopped. I didn't see a weapon, but I was sure he had one.

"James," I replied.

He smirked back at me. "You've heard of me. I'm honored."

"Why are you doing this?" I asked,, trying not to panic.

"It's my job," he replied with a pleasant tone. "And I love my job."

"Haven't you done enough? Just let us go." I knew it wouldn't work, but it was worth a shot.

He chuckled softly. "I'm sorry, Bella." I hated my name on his lips. "I cannot do that." He took a small step towards me. I took one back. "Don't be afraid. You're needed alive."

"Why?" I asked on instinct.

"James, just knock the bitch out and let's go. Aro won't be happy if we're late." I turned to see Victoria with an unconscious Lauren over her shoulder. Shit. I quickly looked back to where James was standing. I didn't know who to keep my eye on. Since Victoria's arms were full, I chose James.

His eyes didn't leave me as he spoke to Victoria. "Take that one back. I'll be along shortly." She didn't leave. "You've had your fun. Now it's my turn," he growled softly. "Take that one back."

"He wants them alive," Victoria replied.

"She will be," he said simply.

I ran for it. It was stupid, but what the hell else could I do? I heard him coming behind me, and deep down I knew he wasn't running as fast as he could. The bastard was playing with me, wanting me to think I was getting away.

Suddenly, I was knocked to the ground. I landed on my stomach with his heavy weight on top of me, making it hard for me to breathe. "Where are you going, Bella? Why are you trying to get away from me?" he purred. I cringed when he brushed his fingers across my hair. "Don't you want to have fun with me? You should be happy I have you and not Victoria."

"Get off of me." I figured saying something too nasty wouldn't be a wise idea since he probably had no qualms against snapping my neck. I didn't want to be one of those people in scary movies that I was always screaming at to shut up.

"Of course," he replied. He stood up and even tried to help me to my feet, but I flinched away from him and got up on my own. "Now, now Bella. There's no reason to be rude. I'm giving you a chance to get away. You should be grateful."

I didn't budge. He knew just as well as I did that he had no intention of letting me get away.

"Why aren't you running, Bella?" I really wished he would stop saying my name.

"If you're going to hurt me, then do it. I'm not playing your sick game." Might as well go down with a little dignity.

James dropped his pleasant façade. He reached me in two long strides, grabbed me by the throat, and slammed me against a tree. "You will do what I tell you to do. Run or I will fucking kill you."

"It's either you or Aro." I would rather have the lackey than the boss.

For a minute, I seriously thought he was going to slit my throat. He tightened his grip, cutting off my air supply. I grabbed his hand, trying to get him to let go, but he was too strong. I should have paid more attention in those self defense classes. My vision was starting to get blurry when he released me. I sucked in some air and started to fall.

He held me up though. "Unfortunately for both of us, death is not in your near future." He grabbed my hands and tied them together while I was still fighting to catch my breath. He left enough rope that he could use it to pull me along like a damn animal on a leash.

"What do you mean?" I asked weakly. "What does he want from me?"

"He'll tell you," James replied, the faux pleasantness was back. "Come along."

I didn't have my pack, but I still had my knife. I would have to act carefully or I would lose that too. I only had one shot. My thoughts strayed to Edward and Jacob as James pulled me through the woods. I didn't know if they were still alive and that was freaking me out.

"I'm rather surprised that you were so easily caught. The others insisted that it would be a more difficult task," said James patronizingly. "I guess you were overestimated." The asshole was trying to get a reaction out of me. "You're just a weak, pathetic little girl like all the rest of them though, aren't you?"

I had to get closer to him to have enough slack in the rope to move my arms without him noticing. I slipped the knife out of my belt. James was arrogant enough to let me keep it, thinking I wouldn't be able to hurt him. He might be right. I was going to find out. I jammed the blade into his leg first. If I couldn't kill him, I needed it to be where he couldn't catch me. He howled and let go of the rope. I brought the knife out of him and went to stab him again, but he caught my arms.

We both hit the ground as we fought for dominance over the knife. I was hindered by the fucking rope around my wrists, and he was having trouble with the pain I proudly inflicted on his leg. Damn it. I should have ran, but I had been hoping to at least try and kill him first.

James got the upper hand and had me pinned to the ground. The bastard probably weighed a hundred pounds more than me, so it shouldn't have been that hard for him. "I said I would bring you alive," he growled. "I didn't say in what condition." He cut open my shirt with my knife.

Shit. Shit. Shit. I struggled to get him off of me, but I wasn't having any luck. I didn't know what the hell he was going to do, but he made it clear that my knife would be involved.

I heard a feral growl before James was knocked off of me.

"Bells." I could have cried with relief as Jacob helped me up and worked to free my wrists.

"Jake!" Thank God he was okay. "I didn't know what happened to you." I looked past him to where Edward was fighting James. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but Edward was having no trouble beating his ass. It was almost scary to see him like that.

Jacob turned me around so I couldn't see them. "Where's Lauren?" he asked.

"Victoria took her," I answered. "We heard yelling and she ran off by herself." That's when I noticed his blood stained shirt. "Shit. Jake, are you okay? What happened?"

"Just a little cut. It hurt like hell, but I'll live," he replied in typical Jake fashion. "We were attacked but we took care of it. I'm sorry we didn't get to you sooner." I tried to turn around when I heard a howl of pain, but Jake wouldn't let me move. "He's fine Bella. You don't want to see."

Correction. I shouldn't have wanted to see, but I needed to know that he was dead. Otherwise, I knew the doubts would haunt me for years if I didn't. There would always be that small worry that James would come for me. Everything went eerily quiet behind me. I didn't breathe again until I heard Edward's voice.

"We need to keep moving," he said. He didn't even look at me.

I tentatively reached out and touched his arm. "Thanks." It seemed kind of lame after he had just killed a man to save my life, but I didn't know what else to say.

He just stood there with his jaw clinched, but then he shocked the hell out of me by crushing me against him. Nobody said anything as he hugged me. I couldn't breathe, but seriously? Fuck breathing.

"Here." He pulled back and took off his shirt, revealing a plain white wife beater underneath. "Put this on." Damn, he was nice to look at.

"Thanks," I said again. Edward took the remainder of my ripped shirt from me and put it in his pack. I guess it would be good if we needed to make bandages or something later. I pulled his shirt over my head and tied it in a small knot so it would fit a little better. Before we started walking again, I looked over to where James's body would be. What I saw made me nauseous. At least now I had no reason for doubts.

"Let's go, Bella," Jake said softly.

I nodded and followed him away from that nightmare. We hadn't made it far when I felt Edward take my hand in his. I looked over at him, but he kept his eyes forward. He didn't say anything and neither did I. I was grateful to him for saving my life again, but I knew one thing. There was no way in hell he was getting his shirt back.

* * *

**AN: I'm sorry for making Lauren such a bitch, but I was hoping that it would make it easier for me to kill her off when the time comes. I'm a wimp. I hated killing Mike and Jessica in the last chapter. Anyway, a new canon character will be in the next chapter. I'm thinking it's about time that Edward finds out what happened to his sister. Review for a preview. Thanks for reading.**


	9. Cave Quarrels

**Chapter Nine**

**Cave Quarrels  
**

We could hear the rumbling in the distance. Half of our friends were either kidnapped or dead, we were being hunted like animals, I had no idea where the hell we were, and to top it all off, it was going to fucking rain.

"Well," said Jake. "I was just thinking I could use a shower."

I rolled my eyes. "Why did I ever date you?" I asked teasingly.

He shrugged. "You couldn't find anyone better."

The heavens opened, and we were soaked in a matter of minutes. I looked down to see that Edward's shirt was clinging to me in the most inappropriate places. "Fantastic," I grumbled. I don't know why it bothered me really. They had both seen me naked. That kinda made me feel a little whorish.

"We need to find shelter," said Edward. "We'll only end up ill or injured if we continue hiking in this weather."

"Damn," I huffed. "I left my poncho in my backpack."

They both held onto my arms as we walked like I was some sort of invalid. I didn't say anything though. With my luck, as soon as the words left my mouth, I would fall off a cliff or get eaten by a bear or something. The last thing I need to hear before I die is "I told you so."

Speaking of bears, Edward decided it would be a good idea if we sought shelter in a cave. Jake and I both made him go in first. We didn't want him to get eaten either, but he was the fastest runner. He made us wait out in the rain a little longer than necessary in my opinion. I figured that was his way of getting back at us.

"There are other caverns in the back, but there's nothing in them," said Edward. "We should just take this time to rest. I'll take first watch."

Jake took off his shirt to wring out the water. "Tell me something. Why is it that we made it to the cabin in half a day, yet we've been hiking for almost twice that long, and we're still in the mountains?"

Edward glared at him. "We're taking a different path. It's not going to be the same."

"I'm not trying to piss you off, man," Jacob replied calmly. "You've saved our asses more than once. I just don't know why. There are fucking psychos trying to get us out there. You can't blame me for asking questions." He put his wet shirt back on. "I'll take the first watch."

Making oneself comfortable in a cave was no easy trick. My bony ass wasn't helping things either. Edward sat down next to me against the cave wall. His jaw was clinched as he stared straight ahead. Jacob had struck a nerve, and I was probably about to make it worse.

"Why are you leading us out of here if you haven't found your sister?" I asked gently.

He clinched his fists in frustration. "Don't ask questions you don't want the answers to."

That was bullshit. "You're just avoiding the question. Why are you leaving, Edward?"

For a minute, I thought he wasn't going to answer.

"I'm not," he said.

"What?" What the hell did he mean by that?

"I'm not leaving," said Edward. "I don't think the hunters have her. I'm looking for who does."

Jacob turned around. "Come again."

Despite the angry guy towering over him, Edward didn't bother standing up. "My sister is out here somewhere. I am not leaving until I find her."

"Are you out of your fucking mind?" Jacob seethed. "You're risking our lives so you can play hide and seek? What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"Your life is at risk regardless," Edward snapped. "Might I remind you that if it wasn't for me, you'd be dead by now anyway."

"So that gives you the right to put us in more shit?" Jake asked. He was so furious that we was starting to tremble. "When the rain slacks off, Bella and I are out of here," he growled.

Edward shook his head. "You won't make it."

"Why the fuck do you care?" Jake replied. "We're nothing to you. We're just some Spring Break kids you met in the mountains."

I didn't like where this was going. I was pissed too, but splitting up wasn't the answer.

Edward finally stood up and got in his face. "You want to go? Go. No one's stopping you."

"Come on, Bella." Jake reached down and pulled me up.

"Don't go with him," Edward told me. "If you go out there, you'll die."

"She's my best friend. I'm not going to let anything happen to her," Jake said defensively.

"What happens when they kill you first? Who's going to protect her then?" Edward shot back.

I finally spoke up. "I can defend myself."

"You haven't so far," said Edward.

"I haven't had the chance! I'm grateful that you're both looking out for me, but don't treat me like I'm some pathetic, helpless little girl." Neither of them said anything. I got the feeling that I wouldn't like what they were thinking anyway. I focused on Edward. "We don't need to split up. It's not safe for any of us, but you can't keep lying to us. We can't stay with you if we can't trust you."

Jacob didn't looked thrilled about staying, but he understood. If one of his own sisters was in trouble, he would do anything to help them. He couldn't fault Edward for doing the same, but he could be pissed about being tricked into helping. "What else have you lied about?"

"I didn't lie," Edward said tensely. "You made your own assumptions. I didn't correct you," he explained.

"We need to know everything now. Finding out later will only cause another outburst like this one. We can't let that happen," I said, trying to be reasonable.

"You won't like what I have to say," said Edward.

"Probably not," said Jacob, "but we need to know anyway."

I really didn't want to leave him. I had grown attached to the asshole. "Please, Edward."

We all stood there in the tense silence, just waiting for him to speak. "That bump on your head," Edward looked at Jacob, "I gave it to you."

"You what?" Jacob snarled.

"Why the hell would you do that?" I asked.

He let out a frustrated breath. "I heard you. He was going to meet you outside when I asked you to hide. I knew you cared about him enough that you would stay back to help him." I was glaring at him, but that didn't have any effect. "I was right. If you went out there, it would have been you instead of Mike and Jessica."

"You fucking knocked me unconscious!" Jacob was going to have a hard time getting past that little detail.

"You're still alive, aren't you," Edward replied.

"I think I should return the favor," said Jacob, drawing back his fist.

I stepped in between them then. I could be easily tossed aside, but luckily that didn't happen. "Anything else?"

He didn't answer.

"Let's go," said Jake, taking me by the arm.

"Look," Edward stopped him, "I _have _to find my sister. I'm not the bad guy here. If you want to get out of here, I will help you, but not until I find her."

"How do you know she's still alive?" I asked softly.

"She's the girl you mentioned before; the one they don't want us to find," said Edward.

The _her_ Victoria insisted we wouldn't be _able _to find. "How do you know?"

"I just do," he answered. "You know I've been watching them. She's the only one that's ever escaped. I thought they had found her until you told me what the hunters said."

Jacob groaned. "One more day," he relented. "If we don't find her then, we're leaving."

"Just so we're clear, I'm still keeping things from you," said Edward. No shit. "But it's all on me. It's nothing either of you have to worry about."

"Just don't fucking knock me out anymore," Jacob warned.

It didn't escape my notice that Edward didn't make any promises.

With that little confrontation out of the way, Jacob went back to watching while Edward and I were supposed to get some rest. Edward sat next to me again. This time he wasn't as tense, but I sure as hell was. Killing a hunter to save my life was one thing, but knocking out my friend was another.

"You should get some sleep," said Edward.

"Yeah," I replied.

I really was exhausted. I wasn't used to so much physical activity. Adventures were much easier to read about. Just before I drifted off, I felt Edward move closer to me, so I could use his shoulder as a pillow. He really needed to decide if he was going to be a nice guy or a psycho, because I was getting mixed signals.

I don't know how long I had been asleep, but when I woke up, Jacob was sleeping beside me. I'm not sure how his snoring didn't wake me up. I smiled and stood up, stretching a little. Edward was standing near the mouth of the cave, keeping watch. "We should be able to leave soon," he said without looking back at me. "It looks like the storm is about to die down."

I walked over to stand beside him. "Are you and your sister close?" I asked.

"We were," he answered.

"What happened?" I questioned before I could help myself. "If you don't mind my asking," I added quickly.

Edward sighed. "Nothing really. I joined the corps when I was eighteen, and then she went off to college. We still talk. We're just not as close as we were when we were younger."

"You're a Marine?" I asked. That would explain why he was all Rambo and shit.

"Inactive," he replied.

The conversation hit a lull. I didn't know what the hell to say to him if we weren't arguing about something. "I'll go wake up the beast back there, so we can get moving. I'm sure you're anxious to find her."

I shook Jacob by the shoulder. He woke immediately. Fearing for his life made him a lighter sleeper. "My turn?" he asked groggily.

"Time to go," I told him.

"Alright," he yawned. "The service sucks in this place anyway. My pillow is hard as a rock."

"You're such an idiot," I smiled.

He grinned and stood up. "Let's find this man's sister, so we can get the hell out of here."

It was still lightly raining, but it was nothing compared to the other things we had to worry about. I wondered if Rosalie and Emmett were doing okay. Now would be the perfect time for them to come zooming by in a jeep.

"Watch your step," said Edward as he hopped off a ledge.

I looked over to see how far the drop was. "Can I take the stairs?"

"It's not that far. Come on, Bells," said Jake.

It wasn't that far to them. They were freaking giants compared to me. I sucked it up and jumped, preparing to bust my ass. I somehow managed to land on my feet and Edward caught my arm until I was sure I had my balance. "Thanks."

Jacob landed beside me. "See? Nothing bad happened."

We turned to continue our trek only to find a man who was set to blow our heads off. "Don't move." Shit. They had guns now? "Who are you?" he asked. Surprisingly, that made me feel a little better. At least that meant he wasn't a hunter. They knew every fucking thing about us.

"Must be that crazy hermit Emmett was telling me about," Jacob mumbled.

"Now's not the time, Jake," I replied. We were all staring down the barrel of a shot gun. If the man was unstable, I didn't want to give him a reason to let his finger slip. The hermit was nice looking though. You really don't see too many of those.

Edward held up his hands. "We're just passing through."

He didn't lower the gun. "No one passes through here. You're with them, aren't you?"

"No," said Edward. "These two were here for Spring Break. We're just trying to find my sister and get out of here."

"What's your sister's name?" he asked.

Edward glared at him. "None of your fucking business. For all I know, _you _could be one of them. Unless you know something, I'd appreciate it if you'd let us go on our way. We mean you no harm."

Like we could harm him anyway, he had a fucking shotgun.

"Tell me your name," the hermit demanded, training the gun directly on Edward.

"Edward," he replied, trying not to lose his cool. That was a smart idea. Again, the man had a fucking shotgun.

"If you're lying to me, I'll kill you," said the hermit. "Come with me."

Oh, this was a fun idea.

The good looking hermit kept the gun on us as he directed us through the thick cluster of trees. "Where are we going?" I whispered to Jake, as though he would have some clue.

"Maybe he's taking us to his house," he suggested.

"That is the dumbest--" I stopped. A fucking house appeared out of nowhere. "Where the hell did this come from?"

"It's camouflaged by all those shitty vines. The dude could seriously use a good gardener," said Jake.

The man unlocked the door and motioned for us to go inside. He kept his house pretty cozy for a hermit. "Wait here," he commanded before going up the stairs.

"Hermits don't have two story houses, do they?" I asked.

"Are you two trying to get us shot?" Edward asked irritably.

Jacob rolled his eyes. "Why don't you just knock him out? Isn't that your specialty?"

I ignored them and continued to observe my surroundings. If the hermit wasn't going to shoot us, I wondered if he'd let me take a shower or something.

"Edward!" someone cried happily.

Both Jake and I turned just in time to see Edward wrap his arms around a young woman. I smiled. "Looks like he found his sister," I whispered.

The hermit approached us without the gun. He looked much nicer that way. "I apologize for before. My name is Jasper."

"Don't worry about it. People threaten to shoot us all the time," said Jacob, waving it off.

"Ignore him," I said. "I'm Bella. The moron is Jacob."

"Bella?" the sister asked.

I looked around Jasper to see her. Since she wasn't hugging Edward anymore, I was able to see her better. I thought things couldn't get any weirder, but then this shit happened. "Alice?"

* * *

**AN: Hey guys! I've discovered that watching horror movies and reading scary stories is much easier than writing them. That's why this lovely piece is updated only once a week. You'll learn more about Alice and Jasper in the next chapter. This chapter was a little low on the creepiness, but I needed some things explained. Of course, there are more explanations to come, but feel free to ask questions anyway. Reviewers get a preview of Chapter 10. Thanks for reading!**


	10. Hit Like a Girl

**Chapter Ten**

**Hit Like a Girl  
**

There are people you meet in high school that you just automatically click with. They become your best friend and in a way, part of your family. For me, Alice Cullen was not one of those people.

When I first arrived at Forks High, I tried to stay out of the spotlight, but being the new girl made it hard to avoid. I hated being the center of attention. Alice, on the other hand, was the social butterfly of the Junior class. She was friendly to everyone and threw all of the school's best parties. We simply had nothing in common, so I never had a reason to get to know her more than a few brief conversations about schoolwork. Honestly, I believed that once we left for separate colleges, I would never see her again. So why the hell was she in Tennessee?

"What are you doing here?" Alice asked. Her eyes shifted to Edward, "With my brother?"

"Jake and I came with some friends for Spring Break," I explained. "I didn't know Edward was your brother." However, he didn't appear shocked that I knew his sister. "How did you end up here?"

She gave me a sad smile. "Our Spring Break was last week. This guy offered my friends and I a package deal on van rentals and hotel rates. It sounded like fun, so we decided to give it a try." Her eyes filled with unshed tears. "I guess it wasn't such a good idea after all."

"What did he look like?" Jacob asked, suddenly serious again.

"He was an older guy with black hair," she recalled.

"Business dude in a snazzy suit?" he added. Alice nodded. "Shit. That's the same guy we talked to."

We did? "We did?"

"Bells, don't you remember? We were hanging out in the quad doing homework when he came over," said Jake. I always knew paying that much attention to my studies was going to bite me in the ass someday.

"Alice," Edward's rough voice cut in. "I need you to tell me what happened."

Jasper motioned for us to move to the sitting room. He was the only one who didn't sit, opting to lean against the wall behind Alice's chair instead.

Her story started out much like ours. She had come to the mountains with a group of friends, followed Heidi's advice and ended up at the cabin. One by one, her friends were either murdered or taken. She described the man that caught her, and I knew immediately who she was talking about: James. "He knew who I was," said Alice. That wasn't surprising. They knew who we all were, but she continued. "Edward, he knew who you were too."

What the hell?

Edward clinched his fists. "What did he do to you, Alice?"

"Who is he, Edward?" she countered. They stared each other down. I was impressed that someone so small could be so intimidating.

"He was my roommate on base until he received a dishonorable discharge," said Edward, his voice laced with hatred. "His name was James."

"Was?" Jasper asked.

"I took care of it," Edward replied. There was a quiet gasp from Alice, but she didn't say anything. "Ali, tell me what happened. How did you get away?"

Jasper reached over and gently placed his hand on her shoulder, instantly soothing her. "He was taking me somewhere. He called it the doll house," Alice confessed softly. "When we got to the hidden tunnel, he passed me off to one of the other hunters, a woman. She wasn't as strong as he was, so when he left, I fought back." She forced a smile. "I guess it's a good thing I took karate instead of ballet. I got away and just kept running until I couldn't go anymore."

"I found her and brought her here," said Jasper. "I took care of her as best I could, but she still needs to see a doctor. I didn't want to risk taking her out again until she got a little stronger," he explained, causing Alice to smile at him fondly.

There was a moment of silence. I was pissed. Edward fucking knew James. It could not be a coincidence that Alice ended up in his clutches. On top of that, Edward knew who I was, and the same guy convinced both her friends and mine to come here.

Jacob finally chimed in. "I'm sorry, but what the fuck is the doll house?"

"It's where our friends are," Alice answered solemnly. "The ones they take alive are wanted for certain reasons. I don't know what goes on there, but I would rather die than find out."

"It's really late," said Jasper. "Why don't you three get cleaned up and get some rest? We'll figure out what to do in the morning. There's some food in the kitchen if you're hungry."

For the first time in days, I was able to take a warm shower. For a so-called hermit, Jasper wasn't doing so bad. He had enough food to last him months and enough ammo to take down a small army. I felt safe, but I knew it couldn't last. As soon as we were able, we needed to go back for Rose and Emmett. I wanted to help the others too, but we had no way of knowing what was on the other side of that tunnel. _Edward might,_ I thought angrily. I put on the loose shorts and tee shirt Alice must have laid out for me. I was going to have to talk to her later when I wasn't so exhausted. I climbed into bed and sighed. I would never take pillows for granted again.

Sometime later, the quiet sound of the door clicking shut caused me to sit up. "What the hell are you doing in here?" I asked as Edward walked towards me.

"Jacob fell asleep downstairs. I didn't like the idea of you being up here alone," he explained quietly.

"You didn't tell us you knew James." If the asshole thought I was just going to cuddle, he had another thing coming.

"I told you I was still keeping things from you," Edward replied.

I scoffed. "No shit. Your sister and I went to high school together for two years," I told him, although it was pretty obvious that he already knew. "You didn't seem surprised that she knew me."

"That's because I wasn't," he replied.

"Dammit Edward, would you stop doing that? I've had enough of this mysterious shit. Just tell me the truth." I didn't think I was being unreasonable.

He sat down on the edge of the bed. "I asked her about you a few times. I knew your name, but I didn't know your face." He actually looked embarrassed. "My mom always sent the local newspaper with her care packages. I liked reading your column."

"You expect me to believe that you've been all freakishly protective over me because of a stupid newspaper column?" Did I look like an idiot? Maybe.

"You don't fucking know what it was like. Boot camp was hell, and then I ended up living with a guy I hated. James saw everything we did as a competition and did everything he could to make my life shit. I didn't have anyone," said Edward. He raked his fingers through his hair out of frustration. "I liked reading what you had to say. It was almost like a letter, telling me what you were doing and what you enjoyed in life. It always made me feel like I at least had you." He finally made eye contact with me. "It didn't matter that I had never met you. I still knew you. I cared about you, and there was no way in hell I was going to let something happen to you."

That was either the saddest, the sweetest, or the scariest thing anyone had ever said to me. "Why didn't you tell me?" I asked, trying to keep my voice calm.

He chuckled humorlessly. "Tell you that I was pining for a girl I've never even met?"

"As opposed to not telling me and letting me believe you were slightly psychotic," I replied. He looked away from me again, and I groaned, falling back on the bed and covering my face. I was so damn frustrated. "None of this was supposed to happen. I just wanted to hike up a few mountains, not worry about classes for a change. Hell, I wanted to get drunk and have sex with a stranger. Watching people die and fighting for my life were not a part of the Spring Break package."

"Considering who you bought the package from, I'd say otherwise," said Edward. I glared at him, but he just shrugged. After a quiet moment, he turned to me again. "Still wanna have sex with a stranger?"

My eyes widened considerably. "Are you fucking insane?"

"Apparently," he replied.

"You're not a stranger," I reminded him. "You know me."

"But you don't know me," he argued smoothly.

"I don't think it's such a good idea." Shit. He was making me nervous.

Edward smirked, "And getting drunk and having sex with a stranger is?"

I needed to learn to keep my mouth shut. I was all talk, and really, I was a prude. I had done this with Jake, but that was when I was trying to convince myself that we were in love with each other. I couldn't have sex with someone just for the fun of it. That would be very un-Bella like. "I am not having sex with you."

"Suit yourself," he replied as though he really didn't give a damn.

That shit hurt my feelings, so to cover it up, I changed the subject. "Are you keeping anything else from me?"

Edward took off his shirt and tossed it aside before lying next to me. That was going to make it hard to concentrate. "Once I get you and Alice out of here, I'm going to find the doll house, and I'm going to make sure Aro, whoever the hell that is, never messes with the people I care about again."

"You can't go by yourself!" I was horrified. There was no telling what the hell the doll house even was or how many fucking hunters were left. It was a suicide mission.

"Well, I'm definitely not taking _you _with me," he replied.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I snapped.

He sounded so damn condescending. "Bella, you can't even pee in the woods without getting captured."

I shot straight up. "You son of a bitch."

"Yes?" he smirked. The bastard had pissed me off on purpose. He was just lying there looking all smug and shit with his ripped abs and toned arms. Dammit. Why did he have to be so fucking hot?

"You're an asshole," I growled.

He caught my arm and tugged me down. I sort of fell on top of him, leaving us face to face. "You say that like it's a bad thing." With his hand on the back of my head, he pulled me down for a kiss.

"Edward." I tried to pull back, but he didn't let me go.

"Don't think of it…" He kissed me again. "…as sex with a stranger." He grabbed the hem of my tee shirt and yanked it over my head. "This is you not worrying about classes for a change," he said, using my own words against me. He rolled us over, so he was on top. "I'm going to need you to be quiet, so you don't get caught for once."

"I'm going to need you to shut the hell up," I replied testily.

Edward smiled and pressed his lips to mine quickly before getting up. He unbuttoned his pants and pushed them to the ground. I kept my eyes glued to his face as he reached for my shorts. I barely lifted my hips, and he easily tugged them down. "How do you feel about foreplay?" he asked, positioning himself between my legs.

Was he kidding me? If I was being honest with myself, I had been ready for him since the day he slammed me against the bathroom wall. "I think you should fuck me now before I come to my senses." I had a tendency to think too much.

He slid into me with a groan. I almost screamed then, but he quickly covered my mouth with his hand. "Are you okay?" he whispered gruffly.

I somehow managed to nod. I would probably regret it in the morning, but who the hell cared? There was a still a good chance that we were going to die soon anyway. Might as well go out with a bang.

As Edward began to thrust, he started to take his hand away. I grabbed it and shook my head desperately. "I can't," I panted.

He understood and, with a deep sexy chuckle, covered my mouth again. There was no way I could be quiet on my own.

My logic center shut down completely. I couldn't think about anything but Edward and how good he felt moving with me. The Marine had endurance, that was for sure. He moved his hand and covered my mouth with his.

"Bella," he breathed against my lips.

This was supposed to be just for fun. No emotions needed to be involved, so why did it feel like more? I wasn't in love with him; I didn't _know_ him, so that couldn't be possible. That didn't stop me from wanting to though. There was more to the him than the harsh man I met in the woods, and he was letting me see that, if only for the moment.

"Edward," I whimpered as I fell over the edge, bringing him with me not long after. I welcomed his weight as he collapsed on top of me, breathing heavily against the skin of my neck. I didn't want him to move. He made me feel safe, pissed beyond belief at times, but still safe.

Before I was ready, Edward rolled over to the side, pulling me into his arms. He gently pushed the hair away from my face and kissed me once more. "Sweet dreams, Bella."

I closed my eyes, trying to figure out what the hell had just happened. Somehow, I knew that when we woke up, he would go back to being the hard-ass Marine, and maybe I wouldn't regret it after all.

When I woke the next morning, I was alone. I sat up and scanned the room, but no one was there. Slipping out of bed, I noticed that I was dressed again. I must have been out of it because I did not remember how that happened.

Deciding to find out where everyone else was, I quietly made my way downstairs.

"Where are they, little Alice?" My heart nearly stopped when I heard the deathly familiar purr of Victoria.

"I told you. They're not here," Alice replied shakily.

Victoria laughed unnervingly. "So it's just you and me? It's too bad for you that I'm stronger than that bitch Chelsea. I should take you to Aro, but I think I'll leave you here for your brother to find." Her voice lowered, "He killed James. To be fair, I should kill his dear sweet Bella, but since she's not here…"

Where the fuck were the guys? I peeked around the corner to see what I was about to get myself into. Victoria had Alice pinned to the floor with a big ass knife to her throat. It reminded me of Mike and Jessica. "Stop!" I stepped into the room. "Leave her alone. I'm right here."

Alice looked horrified, but Victoria looked smug. "I wondered when you would show up."

"Bella, get out of here!" Alice screamed.

"She's not going anywhere," Victoria smiled. "Tell me, Bella. Would you like to die before or after I cut up your little friend?"

"One of us is going to kill you," I replied evenly. "You need to decide who you would rather see die before that happens, me or her."

She laughed again before turning her attention back to Alice. "I'll wake you up in a moment." Before I could stop her, she punched poor Alice with a freakish amount of strength.

I dove into the bitch, sending us both across the room. I caught her off guard, so the knife slipped out of her grasp. She threw me off of her and went for her weapon, but I jumped on her again before she could reach it. "If you're going to kill me, use your hands," I growled. "That's how Edward killed James." That may not have been true, but if it pissed her off enough to forget the knife, I didn't give a shit.

The mention of James caused something to snap inside the psychotic woman. She let out a feral shriek as she threw me into the wall. Raggedy Ann was on steroids. She grabbed me by the throat. "I'm going to enjoy watching the life leave your eyes," Victoria growled.

I was sent crashing into the coffee table. I didn't have time to think about how bad that shit hurt because Victoria was coming toward me again. This time when she lunged, I rolled out of the way just in time. The damn table broke, leaving us in the shatters on the floor. I grabbed one of the splintered pieces of wood. With as much strength as I could muster, I jammed it into her leg, eliciting a howl from Victoria. My adrenaline was pumping as I scrambled across the room to get to the knife.

Victoria managed to get to her feet. Even with her wounded leg, she laughed when she saw me holding her knife. "You're not going to use that. If you were brave enough to kill me, your other little friends would still be alive." She took a step forward. "So just hand it over, and I'll take you to Aro in one piece."

"I can't," I replied. My whole body was shaking. I didn't want to be a murderer.

"Give it to me!" Victoria screamed. She came at me too fast. I didn't have time to think. I could only react, plunging the knife forward. Victoria took a step back. There was a look of shock on her face as she saw the blade sticking into her abdomen. She was breathing heavily through her nose as she reached down and pulled it out painfully slow. "I'm still going to kill you," she said through gritted teeth.

The sound of a gunshot rang through the house, and Victoria collapsed, the knife clanging to the floor beside her. Alice was standing behind her with one of Jasper's guns. Her eyes were glued to the body on the floor.

I slowly made my way over to her, careful to avoid getting anywhere near Victoria. "Alice," I said softly. "Are you okay?" My voice snapped her out of it.

"Yeah," Alice nodded. "She hit like a girl."

I couldn't help but smile. "May I?" I asked, looking at the gun. She handed it to me, and I aimed it at Victoria once again. Memories of Mike and Jessica spurred me to pull the trigger. "Just to make sure," I told Alice.

"You're a lot different than I remember," Alice admitted. Then she smiled, "I guess you should sleep with my brother more often."

* * *

**AN: Hey guys! I'll explain where the guys are and why in the next chapter. Bella won't be getting pregnant in this story. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask. (I'll either answer them directly or in the story.) If you review, I'll send you a small preview of chapter 11. Thanks for reading! **


	11. The Calm Before the Storm

**Chapter Eleven**

**The Calm Before the Storm**

"Alice, where the hell is everybody?" I asked.

"Jasper has the area wired, that way if anyone is coming, he knows about it. The alarm was triggered multiple times this morning," she explained. "No one has ever found the house before. They thought we'd be safe until they got back." She shook her head sadly, "I didn't even hear her come in."

We had moved to Alice's bedroom. Neither of us wanted to sit on the sofa while there was a dead body in the room. There was a chair next to Alice's bed where she explained that Jasper sat most nights, watching over her. I was also embarrassed to discover that her room was right next to mine.

"We need to help them," I said. There were only three of them. If what Alice said was true, they could be out there fighting an army.

"No," Alice replied. "Us being there would only distract them. They'll come back, Bella."

"How do you know?" I asked desperately.

Alice smiled. "Because Jasper said they would."

I just stared at her for a moment before abruptly standing up and grabbing a gun, "I'm going to help them." She opened her mouth to protest, but I cut her off. "I can't believe something just because some guy I hardly know says so."

"Bella, I'm not an idiot," Alice frowned. "I know that just because Jasper says it's true, doesn't make it so." She could have fooled me. "But right now, faith is all I have. He told me he'd come back to me and that he'd bring my brother and Jacob with him. I love him, and I trust him, and I know he'll do everything he can to make that happen."

"How can you know this? You just met him!" I wasn't trying to hurt her feelings, but I was panicking, and she was so fucking calm.

She gave me a small smile. "You and I always were different. I knew when I met Jasper that he was the one. It may sound crazy, but I've _always _been a little crazy. Can't you just feel when something is right or when something is wrong?"

I shook my head. "No. I wish I could, but that's the issue here. If we don't go out there, and something happens to one of them, I won't be able to forgive myself."

"Bella, I was hurt more than you know," Alice confessed. "I may have fought off that woman Chelsea, but I'm not strong enough to take on more than one. If I go out there, Jasper will be too busy trying to save me to worry about taking care of himself. The same thing will happen with you. It doesn't matter that you can protect yourself. They will still worry about you. Could you forgive yourself if something happened to them because they were protecting you?"

I didn't get a chance to answer.

"BELLA!" Jake bellowed. My heart jumped to my throat. Jacob was back, but what about Edward and Jasper?

Alice and I both rushed for the stairs only to meet the guys halfway. They were all there, and from what I could see, they were all safe. Jacob was crushing me in a hug when Edward pulled me away. His eyes were frantically searching my body. "Are you hurt? What the hell happened?" He started to lift my shirt to check for wounds.

I quickly grabbed his hands. "I'm fine. I got knocked around a little bit, but I've had worse."

Jacob turned me back to him. "You're not fine. You look like you've had the shit beat out of you."

"Thanks Jake," I replied dryly.

"I'm sorry, Bells. We saw that bitch in the living room and thought…" He shook his head and hugged me again.

"What happened?" I heard Alice ask.

"Scent hounds," said Jasper. "I don't know whose scent they could be following. Did either of you leave anything behind?"

I knew the color must have drained from my face. "My pack. I lost it when I was running from James."

"It doesn't matter. The hounds are buried," said Edward. "What happened _here_?" he asked.

"I didn't hear her come in," Alice whispered. "She got me from behind. She had a knife to my throat." Jasper tightened his grip on her. "She wanted to kill Bella since Edward killed James. She was going to settle for me instead, but Bella came downstairs." She explained how Victoria and I fought while we thought she was unconscious. For some reason, hearing it from her point of view freaked me out. I had too much of an adrenaline rush to fully understand the situation while it was happening. I was so going to need therapy after this.

"We need to get rid of the body," said Edward.

When they came back, I was so happy to see them that I didn't notice the bruise forming near his eye. Dogs couldn't do that. "What happened to your face?"

He didn't answer, but Jacob did. "Let's just say, we're even."

"Jake," I growled. "You fucking hit him? What is the matter with you?" Jasper and Alice inconspicuously slipped away.

"It's just a little bruise. _He _knocked _me _unconscious," Jake argued.

"He saved your life," I reminded him.

"First of all, he did that to save _your _life," said Jacob. "Second, I guess anytime I want to keep your stubborn ass out of danger, I can just knock you out. Would that be alright with you?" Shit. He had a point.

Edward cut in with a harsh tone, "That's not why he hit me. Jasper came to find me this morning, and I was still in your room. Some took it better than others." I felt my face heat up. Everyone knew? What was the point in being quiet? "We had a misunderstanding. We had a nice little chat, and it won't fucking happen again," he growled, glaring at Jacob.

My best friend sighed reluctantly and nodded. "I'll get rid of the body." He hugged me one more time. "I'm glad you're okay." Then he headed down the stairs.

Edward took my face in his hands. "I'm sorry I wasn't here." I could tell he was struggling with his emotions. He was upset with me for putting myself in danger, but grateful that I came in before Victoria hurt Alice. "Come with me." He took my hand and led me into my room.

"What are you doing?" I hadn't noticed his pack there earlier. I guess that meant I had a roommate. He dug through and pulled out a small first aid kit.

"This will help with soreness," he explaining, gently tugging my shirt over my head.

I took a step back. "That's okay. I'm sure I'll be fine." It didn't matter that I had just dove into a fight with warrior woman; I was still a wimp when it came to someone touching my bruises.

"Don't be a baby," he replied, moving towards me.

"I'm not." I was lying, and he knew it.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Bella." He sighed impatiently, "Do you want me to use it own my eye first?"

That gave me an idea. "If you get to help me, then I get to help you." It was childish, but if he hurt me, I was going to get him back.

He rolled his eyes and rubbed some gel on his hands. "Where does it hurt?"

Since I was thrown into a wall and onto a coffee table, my back caught the worst of it. I moved my hair aside and turned around. I flinched when he first touched me. That stuff was cold. He ignored me and began gently rubbing the gel into my skin. It didn't hurt at all. In fact, it felt incredible. "Damn," I whispered.

"What?" he asked, stilling his hands.

"Nothing," I replied quickly.

When he finished, I was a little disappointed. He wiped his hands on a rag. "That wasn't so bad, was it?"

I took the gel from him. "Sit down. You're too tall." He did as I said, sitting on the edge of the bed. I nudged his legs apart and stood between them. I noticed he seemed a little uneasy. "What's the matter, tough guy?" I asked as I carefully covered his bruising skin with the gel.

He rested his hands lightly on my hips. "I'm used to taking care of myself."

"Carlisle allowed that?" I asked, surprised. I spent more time with the good doctor than I did with Alice, and he was always very caring. I couldn't imagine him letting one of his children get hurt and not help in some way.

"Well, I haven't lived at home for quite a while," he reminded me.

"Right," I replied. "How old _are _you?" I kept forgetting that I knew next to nothing about him.

"Twenty-six," he answered. He seemed slightly amused at my questioning.

I put the gel away and sat down beside him. "I can't believe I had sex with you, and I didn't even know how old you are."

"Sex with a stranger, remember?" When I frowned at him and put my shirt back on, he smirked. "Alright, what else do you want to know?"

"At least tell me the basics. I don't know your full name or anything," I replied.

He began listing the facts. "My name is Edward Anthony Masen Cullen. I was named after my father. My birthday is June 20."

"Wait," I stopped him. "I thought Carlisle was your father."

"Carlisle and Esme adopted me when I was three. My birth parents, Edward and Elizabeth, were killed in a car crash when I was a baby. Esme couldn't have children of her own, so they were more than happy to bring me into their family. A few years later, they decided that I needed a sibling." He smiled at the memory. "We didn't choose Alice; she chose us. I was watching all the kids on the playground when she came over to me and said I could be her brother."

I smiled too. Alice did say she could feel when something was right.

"I hope you're decent," Alice called from the hallway. "We're coming in." If I hadn't just gotten my ass beat to save her life, I would happily kill her now. She came in along with Jacob and Jasper.

"We need to discuss strategy," said Jasper. "I would like to take care of this once and for all. I would prefer Alice to be far away, but she seems to have other plans."

"You never know when you might need me," Alice insisted, and she was right. Victoria would have died from the knife wound, but not before she attacked me again. At the very least, Alice saved me from even more bruises.

Jacob sat down on my other side. "We don't know exactly what we're up against. I think we should go back for Emmett and Rosalie." At the mention of those two, I was immediately on board.

Edward was going to be harder to convince. "I worked my ass off to find Alice and protect Bella. We're at a point where we can get them out of here safely, and you want to grab a few guns and march right back out there."

"If we don't stop it, who will?" Jasper asked. "Kids disappear all the time in these mountains, and it's written off as animal attacks or hiking accidents. No one will listen to me; they always brush me off as a crazy hermit. However, the trails you took to get to that cabin were overgrown for a reason. The locals never take them, claiming they're haunted or bad luck or too dangerous. I can't do much by myself, but together, I believe we can put an end to this."

"I don't mind risking my life for others, but I don't want to risk anyone else's," said Edward, his eyes shifting between me and Alice.

"That's not fair," Alice said softly. "I supported your decision to join the Marines, despite the potential danger, because your reasons were noble. Now, I need you to do the same. These people killed our friends and will continue to kill others. We may not be able to stop them, but I know we would all regret not trying."

Jacob sighed. "Look, if you're worried about your sister, Jasper's gonna help you watch out for her, and as much as you and I butt heads, you know I'd do anything for Bella."

Edward stood up reluctantly. "We better get ready."

They were all right. Whatever was going on needed to be stopped. Too many of my friends had been hurt or worse because of these people, and if it was up to us to do something, then I would do it. However, I was scared shitless. I didn't want to go to the fucking doll house. I wanted to go home to my police chief father where the most I had to fear was him getting pissed if his favorite team lost.

"Bella." Jasper's voice snapped me out of it. "Do you know how to use one of these?" he asked, offering me a handgun.

I nodded and fastened my gun belt. Charlie made sure I knew how to shoot before I started dating. The belt lined with extra ammunition made me look a lot more badass than I actually was.

"When we get out of here, I'm going to visit my sister in Hawaii," said Jake. "It's been too long since I've seen her."

"I'm going to move out of the mountains. Living alone doesn't appeal to me anymore," said Jasper.

Alice smiled at him. "I'm going to spend less time picking out my clothes and more time with the people that matter."

Shit. I guess it was my turn. "I'm going to have more fun. I spend too much time reading about life and not living it. It wouldn't kill me not to be such a cynic either."

Edward was busy putting things in a pack, pretending that everyone wasn't looking at him. Finally he sighed. "I'm going to stop brooding over things I can't change. Life's too damn short."

While the others continued to pack and prepare, I slipped off to the bathroom. I splashed a little water on my face and took a few deep breaths. There was a huge difference between what I wanted to do and what I was going to do.

"If you want to go, say the word. I'll take you home right now," said Edward. His voice made me jump. I hadn't noticed him come in the room.

"I'll be fine," I replied.

"When we get out of here, will you have dinner with me?" he asked, keeping his voice low.

"You're actually giving me a choice?" Before, he seemed all about demanding instead of asking. It was annoying as hell sometimes.

Edward shrugged. "If you say no, I can always catch you."

"I don't _always_ get caught," I frowned. "Technically, I've only been caught once this trip if I don't count you."

"Bella," he interrupted. "Will you have dinner with me or not?"

"Yeah, but you're going to have to tell me more about yourself. It's strange that you know so much about me, and I--" He grabbed my face and covered my mouth with his. A frustrated growl escaped from the back of my throat, despite how good a kisser he was. When he pulled back, I started a completely new rant. "You have got to stop doing that just to shut me up. If you feel the need to kiss me, wait until I'm finished talking, and then have at it."

"Are you finished?" Edward asked.

I thought about it and couldn't think of anything else to add. "Yes," I nodded curtly.

He kissed me again.

Jasper cleared his throat, causing us to break apart. "Sorry," he said uncomfortably. "Neither Alice nor Jacob wanted to risk walking in on you two, so they sent me to get you instead. We're ready."

Shit.

* * *

**AN: Hi guys. This chapter is exactly what the title says: the calm before the storm. I'm working hard to get it finished, so I can post a chapter a day. There are a some nasty little cliffhangers coming up, so I don't want to leave you hanging for too long. The next update will still be next week, but after that, there will be one a day. Also, The Doll House was nominated for a couple of Indie Twific Awards. My other story, Bella Swan: Kidnapper, was nominated for a Bellie. Thanks to whoever nominated them. There is more information about that on my profile. The title of the next chapter is: Welcome to the Doll House. Reviewers get a preview. Thanks for reading! **


	12. Welcome To the Doll House

**Chapter Twelve**

**Welcome to the Doll House**

The five of us marched stealthily through the woods like some sort of fucking army. If it wasn't for cute little Alice and bruised-up me, we would have looked pretty damn fierce. We did take down Victoria though, so it wasn't like we were completely useless, and I had a feeling that there was more to Alice than she was letting on.

I was pretty sure my heartbeat would never slow down. Every now and then, Edward would touch my lower back lightly to guide me forward. I think he knew how fucking scared I was. However, if he didn't stop touching me, I was going to end up jumping on him at the most inappropriate time.

"How are we going to get Emmett and Rose without getting shot?" Jacob asked quietly. "Remember, he said he would shoot anything that came through the door. It would suck to survive everything else only to get blown away by wildlife management."

"We're letting you go first," I whispered back teasingly.

"That hurts, Bella," he replied, putting his hand over his heart.

Edward sighed in aggravation. "You two would never make it in the Marines."

He was right about me at least. If the drill sergeant started yelling in my face, I would probably cry. However, Jake would probably be the push-up king before he was through. It seemed like nothing could get that guy to shut his mouth.

Alice and Jasper were both quiet. I knew Alice had to be nervous. It hadn't been long since she barely escaped the hunters. Now she was going to find them herself. Having Jasper with her definitely helped.

What little I knew about Jasper was interesting. After getting involved with the wrong crowds, his wealthy parents sent him to live with his grandfather Jack, a World War II veteran. The two became close over time, so when Jack passed away, Jasper stayed in the mountains instead of having the house torn down like his parents wanted. It made me admire him and feel sad for him at the same time. Maybe when this mess was over, we could all come back to that house for a reunion.

Shit. I had sex in Jasper's grandfather's house.

"We're being watched," said Jasper as calmly as though he were talking about the weather. "There's only one of them. They won't attack if we're all together."

"Then we split up," said Edward quietly. He was fucking crazy. "We're not far from the cabin. He's more likely to attack if it's one on one, so you and Alice go one way; Jake and Bella can go another. I'll meet you all there."

"How are we going to split up without looking suspicious?" Alice asked.

Jake grabbed my arm. "I've got to take a piss. Come on, Bells," he announced loudly.

"I'm not going with you to pee," I replied, sounding appalled.

"I'm sure as hell not going by myself, and I don't trust these two pretty boys not to look," he argued.

For a minute there, I thought Edward would shoot him, but Alice played along. "I need to go too. Can we please take a break?" she asked, sounding sweet and damn convincing.

Edward huffed. "Fine. I'll wait here and keep watch. Hurry up, will you?" He grabbed my hand before I could walk away. "Hurry back."

He would be okay. I kept telling myself that, as Jacob and I walked away. At that moment, I wished I was like Alice. I wanted to be able to just feel that everything was alright, but I couldn't. Instead, I was filled with a sense of dread, like something bad was going to happen. "Jake," I stopped walking, "we have to go back. What if something happens to him?"

"Bells, the man is a machine," said Jacob. "If anybody can make it out of this mess, he can."

I turned around for a just a second, just to glance back. That's all it took.

"Shit," Jacob shouted. I whipped back around to see the dart sticking out of his leg. He yanked it out as I looked around frantically, trying to see where the dart came from. "Bella, run!"

"Come on," I grabbed his arm with one hand and held onto my gun with the other.

He tried to run with me, but he kept getting slower and weaker. "Bells, go." His legs gave out, causing him to his the ground.

There was no way in hell I could leave him. He wouldn't leave me if the tables were turned. "Jacob, when you wake up, I'm going to kick your ass for getting shot with a damn tranquilizer."

"Please go," he begged. When I didn't move, he got angry. "Get the fuck out of here!"

"Shut up!" I snarled. "I need to be able to hear if anyone's coming."

I heard the footsteps. Someone was running towards us from the wrong direction. It couldn't be Edward, Jasper, or Alice. My hands shook a little as I aimed the gun. "Please, be a hunter," I prayed quietly. I wasn't in a position to ask questions first, so as soon as I got a shot, I took it.

There was silence; I was positive that I hit the target. Unfortunately, so did they. I pulled the dart out of my shoulder as quickly as I could, but Jake had done the same thing; now, he was barely conscious beside me. I didn't know how long he would be down, and I was about to join him.

"Take the silencer off," Jake said quietly.

Shit. Why didn't I think of that? I quickly did as he said and fired a couple of shots in the air. There was no way we wouldn't be found. I just hoped Edward got to us first. I held on as long as I could, but soon everything went black.

I didn't know how long I had been out or where the hell I was. There was something soft underneath me, and something cool brushing against my forehead. "Don't you fucking touch her!"

"Jake," I croaked. He was still with me.

"Open your eyes, Isabella." The voice caused my heart to drop. It was deceptively soothing and completely unfamiliar. I forced my heavy eyes open. An older man was smiling down at me. "Hello, my dear. Welcome to the doll house." I wanted to cry. Jake was still shouting in the background as the man pulled me up. "Jacob, if you do not learn to control your temper, there will be consequences. We would both hate to see something happen to Isabella because you can't behave."

Jacob was tied to a chair on the other side of the room, glaring at the man, but no longer yelling. "Who are you?" I asked, my voice trembling.

The man was busy securing my hands behind my back. We were in some sort of dark lab. "I apologize. Where are my manners?" He came around to stand in front of me. "My name is Aro. It is a pleasure to meet you, Isabella. I've lost quite a few of my hunters because of you." He didn't seem upset; he was more amused than anything.

"Why are you doing this?" In all honesty, I still wasn't sure what exactly he was doing.

"Everyone asks that question," he chuckled. He took me by the arm, helping me off the small bed and to my feet. "Since I don't trust your friend to play nicely, it will just be the two of us for the tour."

"Please, let him come. He won't be any trouble," I pleaded. I didn't want to be separated from him.

Aro shook his head sadly. "I'm sorry, dear. You will see him again soon. I want you both to meet my family." He stopped near the door and picked up a silk scarf. "Do not panic. This is for your benefit. My brother gets offended easily. It would not do for you to say something you might regret." He placed it in my mouth and tied it behind my head, gagging me before leading me out of the room.

The place reminded me of a museum. Large paintings lined the walls of the hallway, each one illuminated with its own lamp. "Unfortunately, we cannot keep our dolls forever. These portraits make certain they are never forgotten. I can tell you the story of each and every one," said Aro proudly. We were walking too quickly for me to get a good look at them.

"On this level, you will find our main collection. Some of the pieces may even be familiar to you. However, we do like to decorate, so there is a chance you may not recognize them." He stopped us outside a pair of beautifully carved doors. "Would you like to see?"

I shook my head. I didn't know what was in that room, but I knew I didn't want to find out. Aro had other plans. "Of course you do," he chuckled, opening the doors and pushing me just hard enough to get me inside. "What do you think?"

Scattered around the room were large cases; in each one was a life-sized doll. "I use what I know about the piece to choose accessories." I hated how he talked about them, calling them pieces when they were human beings.

"I'm quite fond of this one," said Aro, pointing to a beauty with light brown hair and porcelain skin.

The plaque in front of her was inscribed "Irina".

"She came in with the group before yours," he explained. That meant she was with Alice.

"Ah," he smiled, leading me across the room. "Here's one you can appreciate. Tell me, Isabella, did I get it right?" A tear slipped down my cheek. Jessica Stanley's lifeless eyes were looking back at me. Her curls were tamed and pinned back with barrettes that matched the cheerleading uniform she was wearing. "We had to do a lot of work on her skin. Victoria got a little carried away with her neck, I'm afraid, but we were able to conceal it."

He took my arm and pulled me over a little to the next case. "This piece goes with it. You really can't have one without the other. Luckily, his wounds were easily hidden under the costume." Mike Newton was dressed in an authentic football uniform. They somehow had him positioned to look like he was about to throw the ball.

I closed my eyes. I couldn't look at them anymore. "There, there Isabella," Aro purred, petting my hair. I flinched away from him. "You must not be sad for them. Each piece is frozen in time. They will always be young and beautiful, forever in the best days of their lives. It would be a shame for them to have lived, only to grow old and wasted." He didn't seem to have a problem with himself growing old and wasted.

"I'm afraid you will not recognize the others in here. We have quite a few pieces upstairs that you might, but there is time for that later," said Aro. "I'm having Jacob brought to the dining room. You will meet my family now."

Before we made it to the dining room, he stopped to wipe my tears. "It will do you well not to cry. My daughter finds beauty in tears." I didn't know what the hell that meant, but it was definitely a warning.

When I saw Jacob, I was instantly relieved. Aro said I would see him again, but that man was psychotic. I didn't believe a word from him. Jake appeared to be unharmed, but his hair had been cut short and the little bit of dirt had been wiped from his skin. He was gagged too. For that, I was relieved. I knew he would not be able to stay quiet otherwise. I didn't want to see him get hurt.

Two large men stood on either side of him. Neither were quite as big as Jake, but they were still very intimidating.

Aro led me over to stand with them. "Isabella, Jacob, allow me to introduce my guards, Demetri and Felix." He left me there to sit at the table.

There were two other men already seated, and three young people standing behind them, two girls and a boy. They looked to be about my age, if not a little younger.

Aro motioned to the man next to him. "This is my brother Marcus. He decides who gets what doll. He's very good at choosing what each of us would like." The man remained silent, only nodding his head in greeting.

"My brother Caius," said Aro, indicating the other man. "He prefers abstract art. I believe he worked with your friends, Royce and Tyler. Fortunately for Tyler, he was unable to feel any of it," Aro added. They both chuckled lightly. Sick bastards.

"Behind me are my children," Aro smiled fondly. "They are the perfect dolls. I made them and raised them as such."

"Jane." The smallest of the three stepped forward. Just by looking at her, I knew she was the one Aro warned me about. "Which dolls do you have, darling?"

"I have Carmen, Kate, and Tanya, Father," she said, smiling sweetly yet maliciously.

Aro couldn't have looked prouder. "Alec." The boy stepped forward. "Alec enjoys taking care of our less cooperative pieces. He is very creative as you will see later. It is important that you see what can happen if you misbehave." A fucking chill ran down my spine with the way they both were looking at us.

"Finally, my daughter Renesmee." The other girl moved to join her siblings. "She has been somewhat reluctant to choose a doll, but has finally decided on young Jacob." _No_. I felt tears welling up again, but I could not cry in front of Jane.

"I must say, out of all our pieces, your group has given us the most trouble," said Aro. "Victoria has yet to return. Would either of you know anything about that?" What the hell were we supposed to say with gags in our mouths? He chuckled again, "She's not coming back, is she? I always knew she would go too far one day."

Aro and his brothers began to converse quietly among themselves. I took a step closer to Jake. I tried to tell him how sorry I was just by looking at him, but all I got in return was sheer determination. He wasn't giving up. I could only nod in response, letting him know that I wouldn't either.

"Now," Aro stood up, "everyone is going back to their chambers. I'll be able to finish that tour soon." As the room emptied, he came around the table to stand in front of us. "Felix, remove Jacob's gag." This wasn't going to be good. "Do you have something you would like to say?" Jacob kept his jaw clinched and his mouth shut. "I see you have not taken my words lightly. Isabella thanks you for that," he smiled.

Then he turned to me and removed my gag himself. "What about you, dear? Have you anything to say?" He chuckled, "You may speak freely. I will not harm either of you for your words."

There were several things I wanted to say, but I had to be cautious. I did not believe that he would refrain from hurting me or Jake. "You won't get away with this."

The bastard laughed again. "I have been for many years. Your little friends that escaped before the hunters came were already brushed aside by the officials. They sent an officer from Wildlife Management, did they not?" He must not have known about Sam, Leah, and Seth. They knew about the hunters. At the very least, they would contact my father. Charlie wouldn't stop until he found us. "The disappearances are never investigated thoroughly. If they were, I assure you, we could provide adequate evidence to indicate an animal attack or a hiking incident. What makes you think you will be any different?"

We had people who knew exactly where we were. We had friends that were on their way to this sick house. I wouldn't tell him any of that, but knowing it made me want to fight that much harder.

"You're not thinking about Edward, are you?" Aro asked, a knowing smirk on his face.

My eyes must have shown my surprise. How the hell did he know that?

Aro chuckled. "Silly girl, Edward is the one who brought you here."

* * *

**AN: Don't be mad at me. I'm adding the next chapter in less than an hour. If I don't fall asleep on my laptop, the whole story will be posted before I go to bed. Thanks for reading! **


	13. Pets and Pieces

**Warning: Parts of this are a little gruesome. **

**

* * *

Chapter Thirteen**

**Pets and Pieces**

Aro was lying. He had to be. Edward did everything he could to protect me from these people. Why would he be the one to bring me to them in the end?

"You see, Isabella," Aro smiled, "Edward is a part of my family. As such, he gets a doll of his own, and as luck would have it, he chose you."

"You lying bastard," I growled. I felt Jake stiffen beside me.

"He went through so much trouble to keep you safe. James wanted to destroy anything poor Edward wanted, and Victoria was more than willing to help. You see, it was Edward who turned James in for sexual assault, thereby getting him discharged," Aro explained.

No. That wasn't true. Edward was here to save Alice.

"It was easy to get you here," Aro continued freely. "Marcus had no trouble convincing your friends that a trip to the mountains was the perfect way to spend your little Spring Break. Then Heidi, may she rest in peace, led you straight to the cabin. Even Alice and her three little gal pals required more persuading. Edward was none to happy when he discovered his sister was out there, but I had to give James something. He'd been working so hard."

"You sick son of a bitch." I was shaking I was so angry. "You can't do this to people. We're not fucking toys!"

"Bells," Jacob whispered harshly.

Aro put the gag back in my mouth while Felix did the same to Jacob. "Such nasty words from such a pretty mouth," Aro sighed condescendingly. "I think now would be a good time to show you what happens when you don't behave."

I didn't know where he was taking us. I couldn't even think straight. He had to be lying. I kept repeating that over and over in my mind. If he was telling the truth, then all hope was lost; we never had a chance from the beginning.

"I must warn you, this may be a little difficult for you to witness," said Aro, stopping outside a door. "We do not tolerate disrespect towards our family. A little hostility is expected in the beginning; you simply do not know any better. After this, however, it will not be tolerated."

As soon as he opened the door, I could hear the screaming. Aro had to use a lot more force to get me in that room. I had no desire to see what was happening. "Your friend Lauren has been a bit troublesome, I'm afraid," Aro explained, unaffected by the horrifying screams.

I closed my eyes, wishing beyond anything that I could just free my hands to cover my ears. Lauren wasn't just screaming; she was cursing and shouting the cruelest, most vile things she could imagine.

"Open your eyes, Isabella," said Aro callously, "or Jacob will be next."

My eyes popped open immediately.

Aro was casually watching the scene as I struggled not to vomit. Lauren was standing in a round tank with her arms chained over her head. There was a puddle of blood around her feet where they had been nailed to the platform. Alec was behind her, attaching a giant doll stand around her waist.

"He's going to make a snow globe," said Aro. "I told you Alec was creative. He is a true artist."

The screaming started again as Alec picked up a drill. He was fucking attaching her to the stand. "Could someone gag her? I'm getting a headache," Aro complained. He was not bothered at all, and tears were streaming down my cheeks. "My dear, you look a bit pale." He turned to the guards. "Take them outside for a bit. Isabella appears nauseous. If they give you any trouble at all, inform me immediately."

These people were fucking sick, and Lauren was so damn stupid. Why couldn't she turn off the bitch switch long enough to get her ass out of there? Once we were outside, neither of the guards stopped me from burying my face against Jacob. With his hands bound behind his back, he could only rest his cheek on the top of my head. This shit was too much. I would probably hear those screams for the rest of my life, and Lauren… she was just another _doll_ to add to their collection.

After a moment or two, I looked around. We weren't outside, not really. The garden walls caged us in. I could see the sky but nothing else.

Eventually, Aro called us back inside. I _hated _him. Before any of this, I would say no one deserved to die like Lauren and the others had. However, after meeting this man and his so-called family, I had a change of heart. One day, he would get what he deserved, and I hoped I could be there to see it.

"Come along," said Aro, taking me by the arm. He was still careful around Jacob, having the guards escort him instead. Pussy. "I'm sure you must be wondering where your other friends reside."

"Young Eric is with Marcus," Aro announced, opening another door and leading us inside. "As you can see, not all of our pieces are treated harshly."

Eric looked horrible. He was obviously weak and malnourished. Marcus had his arms and legs tied in such a way that he could control his every movement, like a marionette puppet. Eric's defeated eyes met mine. I wanted to assure him that we would get him out, but I didn't know if we could. Instead my eyes drifted to his lips; they were sealed.

I tried to speak, but the damn gag in my mouth prevented it. Aro chuckled and removed the scarf. "Yes, Isabella?"

"What's wrong with his mouth?" I asked quickly.

"It's just a little glue. Marcus does not speak much. Therefore, he does not like for his dolls to either," Aro explained.

"How does he eat?" If they loved their _dolls_ so much, surely they wouldn't just watch him starve.

"We have labs with the proper medical equipment, dear. We make sure he stays nourished," Aro answered. That was bullshit. They were killing him. Soon, he would be in a case next to Mike and Jessica, and Marcus would simply find himself a new puppet.

Aro clapped his hands together quietly. "Let's move on."

He didn't put the gag back in my mouth. I was going to have to be careful. Hopefully, I could remember to think before speaking. Aro liked using mine and Jake's friendship against us. I couldn't let my mouth get Jacob in trouble.

"You may not recognize Royce and Tyler," Aro explained. "Caius enjoys disassembling the pieces and mixing them up a bit."

"I would really rather not see that," I pleaded.

"Nonsense," he replied. "As you're probably aware, Tyler did not feel a thing. He was already too disfigured for our cases, so Caius decided to use him for his sculptures. Royce, however, needed to be punished."

I wanted to scream at him. Tyler was dead because of his hunters, and he brushed it off as if it were no big deal. I couldn't even think about Royce. "Please," I fucking begged. "We're not used to this." No one should be, the sick bastard. "If you take me in there, I'm going to hurl all the place." Surely, he didn't want that on his perfect shiny floors. Caius was a fucking monster. Anything he had in his room would probably give me nightmares for the rest of my life.

"Perhaps later," Aro concluded regretfully. "We'll continue with Jane."

I heard a soft melody coming from her room. Given the circumstances, the normally pretty song sounded creepy as hell. Aro smiled as he led us inside. "Jane, are you having fun?"

The twisted little bitch nodded sweetly. "Yes father," she replied softly. "I'm teaching my dolls a new game."

Tanya stood behind her with two other equally beautiful young women. They were all garbed in pretty dresses with their hair and makeup done flawlessly. As the music played, the platforms where they stood rotated slowly. Each of them stood frozen in different positions. Jane was using them like ballerinas in a fucking jewelry box.

"How do you play?" Aro asked.

"It's quite simple really. My dollies must be as still as statues. If they move, I win," she said with a smile. "They don't like it when I win," she added with a giggle.

I soon got to see why. One of the girls blinked, and Jane bounced cheerfully. "Carmen," Jane sang. Carmen began to cry silently before anything even happened. Jane picked up a small remote and pressed a button. Carmen whimpered, but fought to keep still. I didn't understand what was going on.

Aro was curious. "What are you doing?"

"They're wired under their dresses," she giggled. "I can burn them or shock them with just a touch of a button. They always cry; they're very fragile." She kept holding down the button, causing more and more tears from Carmen.

"Stop!" The word was out of my mouth before I could think about it. Both Jane and Aro turned to look at me. I saw Felix and Demetri tighten their hold on Jacob as Jane set the remote down.

She walked towards me. "Would you like for me to play with you instead?" she asked, her voice sickeningly child-like.

Screw Aro. If that bitch touched me, I was going to kick her ass. A quick thought of what happened to Lauren calmed me down a little.

"I'm sorry, darling," said Aro regretfully. "Edward has not had a chance to play with her yet. You know the rules. If he wishes to share, then you may have a turn."

Jane pouted. "Why does he even get a doll? He's not really family."

The smile finally fell from Aro's face. "I will not discuss this with you again," he said sternly.

"Yes, Father," Jane replied instantly.

Aro turned to the guards. "I believe it's time for Jacob to get acquainted with my dear Renesmee."

After meeting the rest of his sadistic family, I didn't want to know what Renesmee had in store for Jacob. Felix and Demetri pulled him out of the room. Aro gave them a moment before following. I got one last glance of Tanya before I was pulled from the room.

"Jacob is a rather large young man. Precautions must be made to ensure he does not harm my daughter," Aro explained as we traveled to the last of his children's room. "I'm not quite certain why she asked for him. We had just discovered that he was the one to end Laurent. Perhaps she was closer with the man than I knew."

Demetri and Felix were busy chaining Jacob with shackles on his wrists and ankles. Renesmee appeared bored as she watched them. "Is this really necessary, Father?"

Aro ignored her questioning and checked the locks himself. "If you so much as mess up her hair, I will have your head made into a handbag for Jane," he warned Jacob. He removed the gag. "Have I made myself clear?"

"Yes," Jacob growled.

"Good," Aro replied pleasantly before turning to his daughter. "Tranquilize him if you have to. He may take a bit of training," he said, handing her the key to his shackles.

"Do not worry so much, Father," Renesmee smiled. "You know I will call you if I need help." She kissed Aro on the cheek before patting Jake's head, "I've always wanted a pet." I wanted to choke her.

"Now, I must find a place for Isabella until Edward arrives," said Aro.

"Can she stay here?" Renesmee asked. "I have more shackles, and I promise not to touch her. I believe my pet will be better behaved if his little friend is nearby." Hated her or not, I liked her idea.

Aro took a moment to think it over before signaling the guards. It only took Felix to lock me in chains. The damn things were very uncomfortable, but I would take shackles with Jacob over anything else in this fucking nightmare. "Do not harm her in any way," Aro warned his daughter.

She pouted a little, but nodded, "Yes, Father." She walked with him to the door, talking softly so we could not hear.

"We're going to get out of here, Bells," Jacob whispered to me. "Don't give up."

I wanted to reply, but Renesmee was coming back. She had locked her door and was now watching us carefully. "You killed Laurent," she said simply.

Jacob did not apologize. "It was either him or me."

"We've lost hunters before, but James, Victoria, and Laurent have never failed. Now, all three of them are gone," she replied.

"So what? Are you going to get us back now or something?" I asked. I didn't know what the hell she was getting at.

Renesmee glanced at the key in her dainty little hand. "I'm going to help you."

Bullshit. "Why?"

"I did not choose this life; I was born into it. My mother was just another doll to that bastard. When she tried to help me escape, he made me watch as he drained her blood, replacing it with what he called venom, a serum they use to preserve the bodies. I've been trapped in this house for eighteen years, watching as those monsters tortured innocent people. The one time I tried to help a girl escape, she ended up being Alec's new toy." She angrily wiped away a fallen tear. "Until recently, I thought it was impossible for anyone to get out, but because of you, the guard is at its weakest."

"If we're caught, they'll probably kill you too," said Jacob.

She laughed sadly. "What do I have to live for here? For me, death would be a blessing."

Maybe she was just a damn good actress, but I believed every word. "What about the others? We can't just leave them here to be tortured and killed."

"They can help us. Felix and Demetri will leave later to hunt. Aro seems calm, but inside, he is seething with anger. Rosalie was supposed to be brought in already, but she is being well protected. He will not stop until he has her. He wishes to create another doll now that Jane, Alec, and I are older. We cannot let that happen," said Renesmee. Tears filled her eyes again. "We have to do something soon before Aro expands the guard. Hunters can always be replaced, and chances are, they'll be even more skilled than before."

"How the fuck have they been getting away with this?" I asked.

"Aro has someone on the inside on his payroll, a woman named Gianna. She's helped countless times with shredding documents and fabricating evidence," she explained. "If you make it out of here, you have to tell someone about her."

Jacob replied, "There's no if. We _will _make it out of here, and you're coming with us, so start telling us everything you know."

She gaped at him. "You want me to come?"

"Hell yeah," said Jake, "just don't get mad at us if we kill your family."

"Mad?" she scoffed. "I'll help you."

Moments ago, I was ready to kill her. Now, if it wasn't for the damn shackles, I would kiss her. We were going to come up with a plan, free the innocent victims, beat the bad guys, and save the damsel in distress. Then I was going to find Edward and find out what the fuck was going on.

* * *

**AN: Eric was orginally supposed to die too, but I couldn't do it. I'm a wimp, so I kept him alive. Thanks for reading.**


	14. All Hell Breaks Loose

**Warning: This one gets a little gruesome too.  


* * *

Chapter Fourteen**

**All Hell Breaks Loose**

Tanya, Carmen, and Kate were gagged, blindfolded, and locked in their cases. Jane had them decorated to look like giant Barbie boxes. My hands shook as I quietly slipped the key into the lock. When she heard the door open, Tanya backed into the corner to get away from me.

"Tanya, it's Bella. I'm getting you out of here," I whispered quickly, untying her wrists.

As soon as her wrists were free, she took off the blindfold and got rid of the gag. "Shit!"

That wasn't what I was expecting. "What the hell is your problem?" I asked as I unlocked Kate's case.

"I told God I would give up sex and join a convent if he got me out of here," said Tanya.

I didn't have time for her freak-out. "Don't worry about it. God knew you were lying, and he helped you anyway. Now untie her while I get Carmen."

She moved slowly, but did as I said. "I'm going to donate money to the church and get a steady boyfriend," she decided.

Having been there longer, Carmen and Kate were in worse shape than Tanya. "There's a off-road vehicle in the garage. You guys are going take it and Eric and get the hell out of here."

"You're not coming?" Tanya asked.

"Not with you guys," I answered. They needed to get to a hospital. They had been through too much to be of any help to us.

Renesmee was coming down the hall with Eric leaning heavily against her. His mouth was bleeding where his lips had been forced open. "We have to hurry," said Renesmee. "Dinner is almost over. Jane will be back soon." Tanya helped her support Eric.

"Where's Jake?" I asked. He was supposed to be the one with Eric, while Renesmee went down to dinner.

"Can you get them to the garage?" she asked me, avoiding the question.

"Yes," I answered. "Where is Jacob?"

"Marcus left dinner early. I followed as soon as I could without getting the others suspicious. They were fighting when I got there. Jacob told me to get Eric and get out," said Renesmee.

I freaked. "I'm going to help him!" I started down the hall. "Shit! Remind me where his room is." I spent so much time memorizing the directions to the fucking garage that it was difficult to remember much else.

"I'll go back. You have to get them out of here." I was about to argue, but she stopped me. "It won't do for you to get lost in the middle of all of this."

Tanya and I helped Eric down the stairs. "You're in the best shape, so you'll have to drive," I told her. "There's a path behind the house that should lead you back into town." According to Renesmee, that bitch Heidi used it all the time. "Are there any more of you?" I asked Carmen and Kate.

Kate shook her head sadly. "Irina didn't make it, and Alice escaped."

"When you get to the hospital, tell them everything. Let them know that a woman named Gianna was in on it." We made it to the garage without incident. "Don't stop for anybody," I warned them.

"You should have slept with me when you had the chance," said Tanya.

"I'm sure I'll regret it forever," I replied sarcastically.

She smiled. "Thank you," she said seriously. "I hope you make it out." Then she sped out of the garage, leaving me behind.

"You bitch," someone growled from behind me.

Before I could turn around, I was hit with an electric jolt. Every muscle in my body went rigid, causing me to fall. My head hit the floor so hard that my ears started ringing.

Jane viciously threw her taser gun across the room, but her voice was still deceivingly angelic. "You lost me my toys." I couldn't get up. I was still stunned from the fall, and my muscles felt like they were almost vibrating. "So, I'm going to play with you instead."

"Jane!" another voice shouted. I heard a sickening crack as Jane was knocked into the wall. Renesmee stood at the door holding a heated coal shovel. There was blood splattered on the front of her dress, but Jane wasn't bleeding.

"I knew it," Jane sneered. "I tried to tell Father that you were a whining, disloyal bitch, but he refused to believe it."

She started to get up, but Renesmee hit her again with a surprising amount of strength for such a small person. "You're just as perverse and inhuman as he is," she seethed.

I pulled myself up. Aside from the nasty headache, I was starting to feel somewhat normal again.

Renesmee lifted the shovel high above her head.

"Sissy," Jane whimpered. "What are you doing? Don't you remember who I am; how we used to play together?" Renesmee froze. "We were best friends. You were always there for me." The sadistic bitch was fucking with her mind in the cruelest way. "Please, don't hurt me. Sissy, I love you."

"Jane," Renesmee cried. "There's beauty in pain, remember?" A look of pure shock spread across Jane's face just before the shovel landed hard against her head.

I got to Renesmee as quickly as I could manage. We needed to keep moving, but she wasn't in any state to go anywhere. Not knowing what else to do, I wrapped my arms around the aching girl.

"I never wanted to kill anyone," she sobbed. "I never wanted to be like him."

"You're not," I replied quickly. I couldn't believe she even thought that way. "Renesmee, you just saved my life." Again, I noticed the blood on her dress, and I couldn't help myself; I needed to know. "What happened to your dress?" I asked quietly.

"It's not Jacob's," she replied, sniffing a little. She seemed to be calming down, so I let her go. "When I went back to help him, Marcus lunged at me. Jake stopped him." She wiped her face on the back of her hand. "Marcus is dead. Jake is helping the others. I couldn't find Jane, so I ran to find you."

"What others?" I asked urgently.

"Your friends," she answered.

I took her hand. "We need to go. Are you going to be okay?"

She nodded. "I'll be alright." We both took deep breaths before going back into the house. "Bella, I need to go to Aro's office while he's distracted. He has records of everything, every doll and every hunter."

"Where is he?" I asked. She said he was distracted, but I was going to make sure he stayed that way.

"In the display room," she answered, knowing what I was about to do. "Be careful."

"You too," I replied, and we split up.

I rushed down the empty corridor, trying not to think about how incredibly stupid I was being. I had almost reached my destination when I heard someone familiar.

"How do you like it, you sick bastard?" It was Rosalie! I rushed into the dining room where she had Caius lying in a bloody mess on the table. When she saw me, she smiled, "Bella!" Her eyes fell back to Caius briefly. "I was showing him what I thought about his _art_. Since I didn't get to castrate Royce, this seemed only fair."

"Rose?" I was a little scared of her. "Where's Emmett?"

"He's on his way," she answered. "They beat the shit out of those two guards to get a little information. Emmett's coming in the back way."

She obviously had everything under control with Caius. "Who else is here with you?"

"Your mountain man, Jasper, and Alice. Watch out for that little one. She's trigger happy," Rosalie replied.

"Thanks," I smiled before rushing off again.

Edward was here, but I would have to worry about that later. I needed to find Aro and make sure he didn't find Renesmee. I had no fucking clue how I was going to do that.

When I reached the freaky doll room, my hands froze on the door handles. Aro was in there, and from the sound of it, so was Edward.

"Where is she?" Edward asked.

"Waiting for you," Aro replied in his usual calm voice. "After I explained to her why she was here, I'm afraid she may have been a little upset with you."

I took a step back from the door. They were talking about me.

"Take me to her," Edward demanded. "Now."

"Of course," said Aro.

Shit. They were coming. I ran into the closest room I could find and shut myself in. I pressed my forehead to the door and tried to collect myself. Until I knew what the fuck was going on, I didn't want to be caught by either one of them. I turned around to see where the hell I was and immediately wished I hadn't.

I was in the same chamber as the giant snow globe. Lauren's lifeless body was held in place by the stand as the artificial snowflakes swirled in the liquid around her. As horrifying as it was, I couldn't bring myself to look away. My legs began to move on their own accord, taking me closer to her.

There was a vague reflection on the glass; I saw the movement just in time to duck out of the way. A fire poker slammed into the globe, cracking the glass. Alec sneered maliciously. "Hello, baby doll." He adjusted his grip on the poker. "Would you like to know what I'm going to do to you?"

"Stay the hell away from me," I growled. My heart was about to beat out of my fucking chest.

"I'm going to start by cutting off your little hands," he replied. "I'll have to hurry a bit to take your feet. I don't want you to pass out from the blood loss before I'm finished. Where would the fun in that be?" He took another swing at me, but I dove to the side. "Then I'll finally saw off your pretty little head. I'm going to sew them all to a cloth body, so I can snuggle with you when I dream of ways to kill your friends."

We were both moving around the room as he spoke. He was near the globe again. The crack was spreading quickly. I grabbed one of his tools, a hammer, and flung it over his head, hitting the globe. The glass shattered. The force of the released wave knocked him off his feet. I grabbed the same cordless drill he used on Lauren and stabbed it into his arm before he could get up. I almost threw up as the bit drilled deeper into his flesh, blood squirting as he dropped the poker.

I felt a sharp pain where he suddenly stabbed a piece of the broken glass into my leg. I screamed, but didn't go down. Instead, I yanked the drill out and jammed it into his chest, right where his heart should be. "I'm not your fucking doll." I pushed until it wouldn't go any further. Then I did the same thing to his throat. I couldn't take any chances of him getting up again.

I had to get away. I was feeling nauseous and light-headed. I made it to the other side of the room before I collapsed against the wall. I had to pull the glass out of my leg, and I found a rag to tie around the wound.

Demetri and Felix had been caught. Jacob killed Marcus. Renesmee killed Jane. Rosalie was taking care of Caius. I… I killed Alec. There was still one left.

I limped out of the room, trying to keep my weight off my injured leg.

"WHERE IS SHE?"

I followed the sound of his angry voice. Aro's story could have easily been true. Edward could have been protecting me simply because I was promised to him. _He _survived out there all alone, while _we _were struggling with our Spring Break army. There were so many things that he had kept from me. It was entirely possible that he was hiding even more.

With all that stacked against him, I didn't believe it for a minute. Hopefully, my newfound faith in him wouldn't come back to bite me in the ass. That was one of the only parts of me that wasn't injured.

"Son, you have to calm down. We'll find her," said Aro.

"I am not your fucking son," Edward growled dangerously.

"You were meant to be," he replied. "I remember going to the orphanage to see you. You were going to be my first living doll. Then my old friend Carlisle came into the picture. He didn't know why I wanted you, but he never really trusted me. Of course, you were given to the doctor and his _loving _wife. You didn't need a mother, but without one to offer you, adoption was no longer an option to me. I had to create my own dolls." The man was deranged. "I want you to join my guard, your sister too. You were both made for this."

I finally looked in. They were standing in a den of sorts. There was one wall made of windows that looked out at the mountains behind the house. Edward had his gun trained on the older man. Neither of them had yet to see me.

"You would be a part of my guard as well as my family," said Aro.

"You don't have any family left," I said. Both of their eyes snapped to me. I never could keep my damn mouth shut. "We killed them like you tried to kill us."

"I don't believe you," Aro purred. The arrogant ass really didn't.

I brought Alec's drill into view and dropped it on the floor in front of me. "That's not my blood."

The smile slipped from Aro's face. "You expect me to believe that you killed my family?"

"Just Alec," I answered. "Jacob took Marcus, Rosalie got Caius, and Renesmee killed little Jane."

Filled with rage, Aro charged himself toward me. He didn't make anywhere close. Edward had him pinned to the floor with his hands tightly around his throat. "You're going to burn in hell, and this fucking house is going with you." He looked toward me. "Bella, could you bring me those shackles?" he asked tensely, his eyes not meeting mine.

I saw the chains against the wall and took them to Edward without question. He was too busy crushing Aro's windpipe to cuff him, so I locked them around his wrists and then his ankles. Edward jerked him up and chained him to the wall.

Rosalie came in, pulling Caius's body behind her. She left him in front of Aro, smirking at him before stepping aside. Jacob came in next, dropping Marcus next to Caius. Jasper brought Alec and tossed him on the pile. I grimaced when I saw just what I had done. Jasper opened a metal canister and poured something all over them. Then he doused Aro with it too.

"I've got everything," said Renesmee with a briefcase in hand. "These families will finally have closure." Aro looked utterly heartbroken when he saw her, assuming he had a heart. She simply glared at him, "I hope the last thing you think about is my mother."

Alice was the last to arrive. "I can't find her," she confessed frantically. "I went to the garage; she wasn't there."

"Looking for me?" the devil's daughter asked. There was a horrendous burn on her once pretty face where Renesmee had left the coal shovel. Jane had a big ass butcher knife in her hand. She looked right at Renesmee. "I'm not dying without you , Sissy."

Jake pulled Renesmee behind him, but we all ended up diving out of the way regardless. A monstrous jeep crashed through the window, running over Jane in the process. The door opened, and Emmett stuck his head out. "Anybody need a ride?"

Rosalie smiled at me. "Told you I could fix it." She hopped in the passenger's seat, and Emmett backed the jeep out of the house.

"Everything's set," said Jasper.

Edward pulled a small matchbox out of his pocket. "Let's get the hell out of here." He struck a match and flicked it onto the pile of bodies that were immediately engulfed in flames. I left with Alice and Renesmee before he could do the same to Aro.

The eight of us ended up together, watching from a distance as the doll house went up in flames. Renesmee had tears in her eyes again, but this time they were tears of relief. Jacob put his hand on her back, just to let her know she wasn't alone. Emmett was sitting in the jeep with the door opened and Rosalie leaning against his good leg. Jasper sat on the ground with Alice sitting between his outstretched legs and lying comfortably against his chest.

I felt a warm hand envelop mine. "Bella," he said quietly. "Please, look at me." His normally hard expression looked pained. "They brought you here because of me. If I hadn't cared about you so much, this would have never happened to you. I'm so sorry."

He started to say something else, but I took his face in my hands and pulled his lips down to mine, kissing him to shut him up. I was such a hypocrite, but it felt incredible. He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me closer.

"Shit," Jacob cursed from somewhere nearby, but neither of us pulled away. I vaguely heard him say something about classes on Monday.

I was alive and kissing Edward Cullen. Who the hell cared about classes?

* * *

**AN: I liked trying to use things from canon and slip them into this story. I hope you noticed them. I know a lot happened to Bella, but this story is in her POV. How else would you get to read about everything if she wasn't there for it? Thanks for reading!**


	15. The Aftermath

**Chapter Fifteen**

**The Aftermath  
**

"How was your break?" the stupid boy asked.

I glared at the asshole, and Jacob popped him in the back of the head. "How the fuck do you think it was, shit head?"

We probably shouldn't have been so hard on the guy. Maybe he was the only person on the entire campus that didn't know the hell we had been through. Perhaps he lived under a rock and never watched the news. That would be the only way he could have missed the recent media explosion broadcasting about our Spring Break gone wrong.

When our group of eight made it out of the mountains, I was surprised to find my dad along with Carlisle and Esme and a full search crew about to head in. Since no one was taking him seriously, Sam had called for reinforcements. After hearing our story, Charlie was relieved I was okay, pissed that I hadn't escaped at the first available opportunity, concerned about how I would cope with everything I had been through, and finally, proud that I didn't just run away like he originally wished I would have.

The information that Renesmee swiped from Aro's office ensured that the rest of us avoided any real interrogation. We were questioned at the hospital, but allowed to go home not long after. I figured they were so accommodating and generous, so our parents wouldn't go crazy on them. They didn't know Renee.

Regardless of all that, I was back at school. It was Friday and my last class had just ended. Jacob and I were hanging out in the student center. They had killer smoothies.

Emily passed by and gave us a small wave. Until she could have cosmetic surgery, she was rocking a head scarf and big ass sunglasses. At first, she felt really sorry for herself, but when she found out what happened to the others, she decided that she was lucky. Had her face not been mauled, she could have ended up just like Jessica or Lauren.

Across the room, Leah was playing pool with Seth while Sam worked on a paper that was probably due the day before. Leah scratched, causing Seth to do an obnoxious yet funny victory dance. He sobered up immediately when she threatened him with her cue. Sam rolled his eyes with a smile and tugged his hostile girlfriend over to sit on his lap.

I hadn't seen much of Ben or Angela. Future doctors always had a shit load of homework to do. They were working their butts off, just so they could get into another school for even more work. It wasn't completely crazy. They would save lives one day and probably make a good living doing it.

Eric, on the other hand, I saw him everywhere. He was still the same guy, a little shy and freakishly intelligent. However, now he had a small fan club. Tanya must have talked him up pretty good.

I had to laugh when I thought about Tanya. She was going through withdrawals already. Her first day out of the mountains, she went to church to make her donation and met a very charming youth pastor. Trying to get a man's attention without using sex was new to her, but she was up for the challenge.

"Ready to go?" Jacob asked, handing me a smoothie.

"Yep," I smiled. We were way past the awkward post-breakup stage. Near death experiences really make you appreciate the people in your life more.

On our way to his truck, we passed the area where the gardeners were putting together a small memorial garden for Tyler, Jessica, Mike, Lauren, and even Royce. It was Rosalie's decision to keep what he did to her on the down low. She claimed that his parents were probably suffering enough without knowing their son was a rapist.

I was surprised at her. Rosalie had always been the vindictive type to those who did her wrong. Her new outlook was partly due to the therapy we were all receiving. Of course, Emmett should receive some of the credit as well. He was the only person on the planet who could make a pissed off Rosalie crack a smile. She wasn't ready for another relationship yet, but when the day came, Emmett would be there.

When we got to the truck, I had to wait for Jake to unlock it. He was preoccupied with his phone. "Who are you texting?" I asked, although I already knew the answer.

"Nessie," he grinned. "She says to tell you 'hi'."

"_Nessie?_" I asked.

He shrugged, "Takes too long to text her full name."

I laughed, getting in the truck. "Tell her I said hey."

After hearing her story, Esme and Carlisle didn't think twice about taking her in. Renesmee finally got to see what it was like to have a normal, loving family, and she wasn't taking it for granted.

Alice had gone back to school. We decided to stay in touch, so I got random calls and texts from her throughout the week. She and Jasper were still together. He was opening up a paintball arena in Washington, since Alice wanted to live close to home.

"Thanks for the ride," I said when Jake stopped in front of my apartment building. We would normally hang out together, but he insisted that he had to do his homework. Jacob Black never did his homework on weekends. It was unheard of.

"See you later, Bells," he grinned, before driving off.

I sighed and headed upstairs to my little on-campus apartment. On my way, I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket; Edward's name was flashing on the small screen. I frowned and sent him a busy signal.

Contrary to how things were supposed to occur, we did not ride off into the sunset and enjoy happily ever after. I came back to school; Edward went back to work. That still didn't stop him from trying to tell me what to do. If he sent me one more text, telling me to be careful, I was going to head back to the mountains and take Jasper's place as the crazy hermit.

I pulled out my keys to unlock my door, but I stopped before reaching the keyhole. My door was already cracked open. "Shit." I ran for it. My phone was vibrating again, but this time I ignored it all together. I flung open the door to the stairwell only to find someone waiting there for me.

"Hello Bella," he said.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I asked.

"I told you if you stopped answering my calls, I would come after you," he replied, moving towards me.

I bolted down the hallway, trying to get back to my apartment, so I could barricade myself inside. I was almost to the door when his strong arms wrapped around me, lifting my feet off the floor. He kicked my door open the rest of the way and carried me inside.

"Put me down, you bastard," I growled, fighting to get free.

"That's no way to talk to your boyfriend." I could hear the smile in his voice as he let me go.

Damn Alice. Edward hadn't told Carlisle or Esme about his little trip to the mountains, not wanting them in danger. To distract them from killing him, Alice introduced them to his "girlfriend". I stood there opening and closing my mouth, looking like a damn fish, while Charlie took Edward aside for a talk, and I was left with an overly excited Esme. Before the day was over, our wedding date was set and our children had trust funds.

I turned around and tried to glare at him, but it wasn't working.

He reached over and tugged the elastic band out of my hair, letting it fall down on my shoulders. "I believe you owe me a date, Miss Swan." He ran his fingers into the curly mess and smiled.

I finally caved and smiled back. "How long are you going to be here?"

"I have to leave Sunday, but I'll be back next Friday. If you refuse my company, Jacob offered me a place on his couch. I believe he's trying to stay on my good side, since Renesmee is now part of my family," said Edward.

Edward staying with my ex-boyfriend couldn't be a good thing for me. "You're staying with me," I told him. If he could be demanding, then damn it, so could I.

"I was hoping you would say that," he smiled. "You ready to go?"

"Hell no," I replied. "I'll be right back." I rushed to my bedroom to change clothes and do something with my hair. It wasn't as bad as I thought it was.

When I came back, Edward was leaning against the wall near the door. He stood up straight and offered me his arm. "You look beautiful, Bella."

He was full of shit, but sweet. "Thank you."

We went to a cute Mexican Restaurant in town. "I remember reading that you were burned-out on Italian," he explained.

"Did you really read all of my columns?" I asked. It just seemed so unbelievable to me. As much as I loved it, I'm sure most people found it pointless.

"I still have them," he admitted. "You really have no idea what you did for me."

"But it was just a silly column," I replied lightly. "It was nothing for you to risk your life over." Yet, he had.

He smiled at me. "I thought you were going to stop being such a cynic." I did recall saying that at one point or another.

"It's a tough habit to break," I laughed.

We were in the middle of dessert when the hostess came over to our table. "Isabella Swan?" she asked, and I nodded. "I was asked to give you this." She handed me a medium-sized gift box.

I looked at Edward, thinking maybe he had something to do with it, but he appeared just as confused as me. I lifted the lid and moved the tissue paper aside. My heart jumped to my throat when my fingers touched the porcelain skin of a doll. I dropped the box on the table and stood up.

"Bella, what is it?" Edward asked. He pulled the box across the table, so he could see inside. His face paled, and I assumed it was because of the doll. However, he reached in and pulled something else out, a charred scrap of fabric with the words "Property of the Chief of Police" embroidered with black thread, a piece of my pack that I had lost in the mountains.

I ran to the bathroom to splash water on my face. It helped calm me down a little, until I heard his voice. "Hello, baby doll." I screamed.

"Bella?" Edward wrapped his arms around me. "Baby, it was just a dream. You're okay. I've got you."

I was breathing heavily and sweating a little as I looked around. I was in our bedroom. Edward was next to me wearing nothing but the bed sheets. "Sorry," I whispered. I hadn't had a dream like that in almost a month. They were getting few and far between.

He soothingly rubbed my arm and kissed the top of my head. "They told us we would have nightmares. It's completely normal," he replied. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"It wasn't anything new," I told him, and it really wasn't. "I'm fine," I said truthfully.

"Okay." He kissed my neck where it reached my shoulder. I smiled as he left a trail of kisses across my skin. "I hope you don't think I'm just going to let you go back to sleep."

"God, I hope not," I laughed.

My back hit the pillows as he climbed on top of me. His lips met mine, making me forget all about the damn doll house.

**The End**

* * *

**AN: I hope no one was disappointed in this story. I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I started it. If you want something scarier or more intense, I encourage you to write one. I'll read it. Thanks for reading! You guys have been awesome. **

**There has been a few questions about Edward's involvment in this whole mess, so hopefully this will clear it up. Edward had never heard of Aro or the Doll House before this story. Aro knew of Edward when he was little. He wanted to adopt him and make him his first living doll. Carlisle and Esme got Edward instead. When Aro found out about Edward's feelings for Bella, he decided to use her (and Alice) to get Edward to finally join his family/guard. Therefore, in his messed up mind, Aro believed that Edward was the reason Bella was brought there.**


End file.
